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BR  85  .M432  1846 

Merle  d'Aubign  e,  J.  H.  1794 

-1872. 
D'Aubign  e,  and  his  writings 


D'AUBIGNE, 


AND 


HIS     WRITINGS 


PRIOR   TO   HIS 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


D'AUBIGN^, 


AND 


HIS    WRITINGS: 


WITH  A  SKETCH  OF  THE 


LIFE  OF  THE  AUTHOR, 


BY 


REV.  ROBERT  BAIRD,  D.D. 


NEW  YORK: 
BAKER    AND    SCRIBNER, 

145   NASSAU    STREET. 

1846. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1846,  by 

BAKER  &  SCRIBNER, 

in  the  Clerk'8  office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern  District  of 
New  York. 


S.  W.  BENEDICT, 
Ster.    &   Priut.,    16    Spruce    Street. 


J.  H.  MEEI^E  D^AUBJGNE, 


REV.  ROBERT  BAIRD,  D.D. 


In  compliance  with  the  request  of  many  friends,  who  desire  to 
know  something  of  the  family,  life,  character,  and  literary  labors 
of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Merle  d'Aubigne,  author  of  the  celebrated 
"  History  of  the  Reformation  in  the  Sixteenth  Century,"  I  fur- 
nish the  brief  memoir  which  follows. 

John  Henry  Merle  (or,  as  he  is  called  in  England  and  this 
country.  Merle  d'Auhign^)  was  born  in  the  city  of  Geneva,  in 
the  year  1794.  Consequently  he  is  a  little  more  than  forty- 
eight  years  of  age. 

Although  a  Swiss  by  birth,  Dr.  Merle  is  of  French  origin. 
His  family,  like  that  of  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  Geneva,  is 
descended  from  Huguenot  ancestors,  who  were  compelled  to  leave 
their  native  country  because  of  their  religion,  and  to  take  refuge 
in  a  city  upon  which  one  of  their  countrymen,  John  Calvin^  had 
been  the  instrument,  under  God,  of  conferring  the  blessings  of  the 
Reformation. 

The  great-grandfather  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Merle  d'Aubign^,  on 
his  paternal  side,  was  John  Leivis  Merle,  of  Nismes.  About  the 
epoch  of  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  (1685),  this 
worthy  man,  who  was  a  sincere  Protestant,  fled  from  his  country, 
and  took  refuge  in  Switzerland,  in  order  to  enjoy  the  religious 
liberty  which  France,  under  the  rule  of  Louis  XIV.,  denied  him. 

His  son,  Francis  Merle,  married,  in  the  year  1743,  Elizabeth, 
the  daughter  of  a  Protestant  nobleman,  residing  in  Geneva,  whose 
name  was  George  d'  Aubigne.  Agreeably  to  a  usage  which 
exists  at  Geneva,  and,  I  believe,  in  many  other  portions  of 
Switzerland,  by  which  a  gentleman  adds  the  name  of  his  wife  to 


Xiv  LIFE  OF  THE  AUTHOR. 

his  own,  in  order  to  distinguish  him  from  other  persons  of  the 
same  name,  Mr.  Francis  Merle  appended  that  of  d''Aubigne  to 
his  own,  and  was  known  as  Francis  Merle  d'Aubigni.  Since 
his  day,  the  family  have  retained  the  name  of  Merle  d'Aubigne. 
At  least  this  was  the  case  with  the  son  of  Francis  Merle, — the 
father  of  oxir  author, — as  well  as  with  our  author  himself. 

George  d'Aubigne^  just  mentioned,  whose  daughter  Elizabeth 
became  the  wife  of  Francis  Merle,  was  a  descendant  of  Theodore 
Agrippa  d''Aubigne,  who  left  France,  in  the  year  1620,  on 
account  of  religious  persecution.  This  Theodore  Agrippa 
d'Aubigne  was  no  common  man.  The  old  chroniclers  call  him 
un  Calviniste  zele^  si  oneques  il  en  Jut ;  "  a  zealous  Calvinist,  if 
there  ever  was  one."  He  bought  the  domain  of  Lods,  near 
Geneva,  on  which  he  built  the  Chateau  of  Crest,  which  still  re- 
mains. The  old  Huguenot  warrior  handled  the  pen  and  the  lyre 
as  well  as  the  sword  ;  and  his  Tragiques,  a  poem  full  of  life  and 
genius,  drew  a  vivid  picture  of  the  court  of  the  imbecile  Henry 
ni.  of  France,  and  his  infamous  mother,  Catharine  de  Medici. 
His  Histoire  Universelle  de  la  Jin  du  16?Me  Siecle  had  the  honor 
of  being  publicly  burnt  at  Paris,  in  the  year  1620,  by  order  of 
Louis  Xni.  He  wrote  also  the  Confession  de  Saucy,  and 
several  other  works.  It  is  related  of  him,  that,  at  the  age  of 
eight  years,  he  knew  well  both  the  Latin  and  the  Greek  lan- 
guages. At  the  age  of  fourteen,  he  went  to  Geneva,  to  finish 
his  studies  in  the  "  Academy,"  or  University,  of  that  city. 
Having  completed  his  course  in  that  Institution,  he  returned  to 
France  ;  whence,  as  has  been  stated,  he  was  compelled  to  fly, 
in  the  year  1620.  Upon  establishing  himself  at  Geneva,  he  be- 
came allied,  by  marriage,  with  the  families  of  the  Burlamachi 
and  Calandrini,  two  of  the  most  honorable  families  in  that  city, 
both  of  Italian  origin  ;  for  Geneva  was  a  "  City  of  refuge"  to  per- 
secuted and  exiled  Protestants  of  Italy  as  well  as  of  France. 

Francis  Merle  d'Aubigne  had  many  children,  one  of  whom, 
Amie  Robert  Merle  d'Aubigne,  was  born  in  1755,  and  was  the 
father  of  three  sons ;  the  oldest  and  the  youngest  of  whom  are 
respectable  merchants  in  this  country — the  former  in  New  York, 
and  the  latter  in  New  Orleans — and  the  second  is  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Merle  d'Aubigne,  the  subject  of  this  notice.     Amie  Robert 


LIFE  OF  THE  AUTHOR.  XV 

Merle  d'Aubigne  had  a  strong  desire  in  his  early  years  to  con- 
secrate his  life  wholly  to  the  service  of  his  God  ;  and  his  parents 
allowed  him  to  pursue  the  studies  requisite  for  the  right  discharge 
of  the  office  of  the  ministry  of  the  gospel.  But  on  his  father's 
death,  his  uncle  and  guardian,  ^''  par  un  caprice  qui  fit  le  malheur 
de  ma  jeunesse^^*  (as  he  says  in  his  memoir,  written  for  his  oldest 
son,  William),  caused  him  to  give  up  his  studies  and  embrace 
other  pursuits. 

The  end  of  this  excellent  man  was  truly  tragical  and  deplor- 
able. In  the  year  1799  he  went  on  an  important  commercial 
mission,  to  Constantinople  and  Vienna.  On  his  return  from  the 
latter  city  to  Geneva,  through  Switzerland,  in  the  autumn  of  that 
year,  he  was  met  on  the  road,  near  Zurich,  by  the  savage  and  in- 
furiated hordes  of  Russians,  who  had  been  recently  defeated  by 
the  French  forces  under  the  command  of  Massena,  and  by  them 
was  cruelly  murdered  ! 

His  widow,  who  is  still  living  in  Geneva,  in  a  vigorous  old 
age,  devoted  all  the  energies  of  an  active  and  enlightened  mind 
to  the  care  of  her  fatherless  children  ;  aud  now  daily  thanks  God 
for  having  supplied  her  with  the  means  of  giving  them  a  liberal 
education. 

The  preceding  paragraphs  will  suffice  to  give  the  reader  some 
knowledge  of  the  ancestors  of  the  subject  of  this  biographical 
sketch. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Merle  d'Aubigne  was  educated  in  the  "  Aca- 
demy"— or,  as  it  is  more  commonly  called  by  strangers,  the 
University — of  his  native  city.  After  having  completed  the 
course  of  studies  in  the  Faculties  of  Letters  and  Philosophy,  he 
entered  that  of  Theology.  I  am  not  certain  as  to  the  time  when 
he  finished  his  preparations  for  the  ministry  ;  but  believe  that  it 
was  about  the  year  1816. 

The  Theological  Faculty  in  the  Academy  of  Geneva,  when 
Dr.  Merle  d'Aubigne  was  a  student,  was  wholly  Socinian  in  its 
character.  Whatever  were  the  shades  of  difference  in  regard  to 
doctrine,  which  prevailed  among  its  professors,  they  all  agreed  in 
rejecting  the  proper  divinity  of  the  Saviour  and  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  salvation  through  the  expiatory  death  and  intercession  of 
*  Through  a  caprice  which  rendered  my  youth  miserable. 


XVi  LIFE  OF  THE  AUTHOR. 

the  former,  and  regeneration  and  sanctification  bj  the  influences 
of  the  latter.  With  these  cardinal  doctrines  of  the  Gospel, 
others  which  are  considered  by  all  Evangelical  Christians  to  be 
fundamental  in  the  system  of  their  Faith,  were  also  renounced. 
Alas,  the  same  state  of  things  exists  at  this  day,  in  the  School 
which  Calvin  founded,  and  in  which  that  great  man,  as  well  as 
Beza,  Francis  Turrettin,  Pictet,  and  other  renowned  men  taught 
the  youth,  who  gathered  around  them,  the  glorious  doctrines  of 
the  Gospel  and  the  Reformation. 

It  was  under  such  instruction  that  Dr.  Merle  pursued  his 
studies  for  the  sacred  ministry.  But  it  pleased  God  to  send  a 
faithful  servant  to  Geneva  about  the  time  that  he  was  com- 
pleting his  theological  training.  This  was  Mr.  Haldane,  of  Edin- 
burgh, a  wealthy  andjfpalous  Christian,  who  still  protracts  a  long 
and  useful  life,  which  has  been  spent  in  the  service  of  his  Mas- 
ter. This  excellent  man,  deploring  the  errors  which  prevailed 
in  the  theological  department  of  the  Academy,  endeavored  to  do 
what  he  could,  during  the  sojourn  of  a  winter,  to  counteract 
them.  For  this  purpose,  he  invited  a  number  of  young  men  to 
his  rooms  in  the  hotel  in  which  he  lodged,  and  there,  by  means 
of  an  interpreter  at  first,  he  endeavored  to  teach  them  the  glori- 
ous Gospel.  In  doing  this,  he  commented  on  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans,  at  much  length.  God  blessed  his  efforts  to  the  salvation 
of  some  ten  or  twelve  of  them. 

Seldom  has  it  happened  that  an  equal  number  of  young  men 
have  been  converted  about  the  same  time,  and  in  one  place, 
who  have  been  called  to  perform  so  important  a  part  in  building 
up  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  One  of  these  men  was  the  excellent 
Felix  Neff",  of  blessed  memory.  Another  was  the  late  Henry 
Pyt.  The  greater  part  of  them,  however,  still  live  to  adorn  and 
bless  the  Church  in  France  and  Switzerland.  But  none  of  them 
have  become  more  celebrated  than  the  subject  of  this  notice. 

Not  long  after  his  ordination.  Dr.  Merle  set  out  for  Germany, 
where  he  spent  a  number  of  months,  chiefly  at  Berlin.  On  his 
way  to  that  city,  he  passed  through  Eisenach,  and  visited  the 
Castle  of  Warburg,  in  the  vicinity,  famous  for  the  retreat,  if  not 
properly  the  imprisonment,  of  Luther.  It  was  whilst  gazing  at 
the  walls  of  the  room  which  the  great  Reformer  had  occupied, 


LIFE  OF  THE  AUTHOR.  XVU 

that  the  thought  of  writing  the  "  History  of  the  Reformation" 
entered  his  mind,  never  to  abandon  it  till  its  realization  should 
put  the  world  in  possession  of  the  immortal  work  whose  existence 
may  be  said  to  date  from  that  day. 

From  Berlin,  Dr.  Merle  was  called  to  Hamburgh,  to  preach 
to  an  interesting  French  Protestant  Church,  which  had  been 
planted  by  pious  Huguenots,  when  compelled  to  leave  France, 
upon  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  and  which  has 
been  continued  by  their  descendants.  In  that  city  he  spent  five 
years,  diligently  employing  his  time  in  amassing  information  on 
the  great  subject  upon  which  he  had  resolved  to  write. 

From  Hamburgh  he  was  invited  to  Brussels  by  the  late  king 
of  Holland,  to  preach  in  a  chapel  which  he  had  erected  in  that 
capital,  for  Protestants  who  spoke  the  French  language.  At 
that  time,  and  down  till  1830,  Belgium  (of  which  Brussels  is 
the  capital)  was  united  to  Holland,  and  formed  a  portion  of  the 
kingdom  of  the  Netherlands. 

In  the  year  1830,  a  Revolution  took  place  in  Belgium,  occa- 
sioned as  much  by  religious  as  by  political  causes.  The  priests, 
in  order  to  deliver  the  country  from  the  Protestant  influence 
which  a  union  with  Holland  diffused  in  it,  joined  De  Potter  and 
the  other  "  patriots"  in  their  revolutionary  measures.  The  en- 
terprise succeeded.  The  Dutch  were  driven  out ;  and  all  who 
were  considered  friendly  to  the  king,  or  intimately  connected 
with  him,  were  in  no  little  danger.  Among  those  who  were  in 
this  predicament  was  Dr.  Merle.  At  no  small  risk  of  his  life, 
he  escaped  from  Belgium  to  Holland,  where  he  spent  a  short 
time,  and  thence  went  to  his  native  city. 

The  return  of  Dr.  Merle  to  Geneva  was  most  opportune. 
The  friends  of  the  Truth  had  been  steadily  increasing  in  number 
since  the  year  1816,  and  had  begun  to  think  seriously  of  found- 
ing an  orthodox  School  of  Theology,  in  order  that  pious  Swiss 
and  French  youth,  who  were  looking  to  the  ministry  of  the 
Gospel,  should  no  longer  be  forced  to  pursue  their  studies  under 
the  Unitarian  doctors  of  the  Academy.  The  arrival  of  Dr. 
Merle  decided  them  for  immediate  action.  The  next  year 
(1831)  the  Geneva  Evangelical  Society  was  formed,  one  of 
whose  objects  was  to  found  the  long  desired  Seminary.     In  this 


XVlll  LIFE  OF  THE  AUTHOR. 

movement  Dr.  Merle  took  a  prominent  part,  and  was  placed  at 
the  head  of  the  new  School  of  Theology.  His  intimate  friend, 
the  excellent  Mr.  Gaussen,  so  favorably  known  in  this  country 
for  his  Theopneustia,  and  in  Switzerland  for  many  other  writings? 
took  an  equal  part  in  this  important  enterprise,  and  was  chosen 
Professor  of  Theology.  Mr.  Gaussen  is  one  of  those  in  Geneva 
who  have  had  to  endure  much  of  the  "  shame  of  the  cross,"  and 
he  has  endured  it  well.  For  the  noble  stand  which  he  had  taken 
in  behalf  of  the  Truth,  he  was,  by  the  government,  turned  out 
of  the  Church  of  which  he  was  for  years  a  pastor.  A  man  of 
fortune,  as  well  as  of  rich  gifts  and  attainments,  he  has  devoted 
himself,  without  a  salary,  to  the  infant  Institution  which  he  and 
Dr.  Merle,  sustained  by  some  distinguished  laymen — among 
whom  I  may  mention  Col.  Tronchin,  Ch.  Gautier,  and  M.  Bois- 
sier — have  been  the  instruments,  under  God,  of  founding  and  of 
raising  up  to  its  present  respectable  standing.  Commencing 
with  some  three  or  four  young  men,  it  has  steadily  increased, 
till  it  has  now  forty  students,  including  both  the  preparatory  and 
the  theological  departments. 

This  Seminary  has  enjoyed  the  talents  of  other  valuable  and 
distinguished  men.  For  several  years,  M.  Galland  was  a  pro- 
fessor in  it.  The  late,  and  still  much  lamented  Steiger,  the  pupil 
and  friend  of  Tholuck,  was  a  professor  in  it  during  some  years ;  and, 
at  present,  it  enjoys  the  services  of  Messrs.  Pilet  and  La  Harpe, 
who  are  worthy  colleagues  of  Merle  d'Aubigne  and  Gaussen. 

The  publications  of  Dr.  Merle  have  been  numerous.  I  will 
give  the  titles  of  the  most  important  of  them 

1.  Le  Christianisme  porle  aux  Nations. 

Christianity  carried  to  the  Nations — a  Missionary  Sermon. 

2.  Celebration  de  la  Cene. 

A  Discourse  on  the  Lord's  Supper. 

3.  Confession  du  nom  de  Christ. 

On  the  Duty  of  Confessing  Christ  before  the  World. 

4.  Culte  Domestique. 

-  On  Family  Worship. 

5.  Discours  sur  VEtude. 
Discourse  on  Study. 


LIFE  OF  THE  AUTHOR.  xix 

6.  Eglise  appelee  a  confess er. 

The  Church  called  to  maintain  the  Truth. 

7.  Enfans  de  Dieu'. 
The  Children  of  God. 

8.  Etudes  Chretiennes. 
Christian  Studies. 

9.  Foi  et  Science. 
Faith  and  Science. 

10.  Miracles,  ou  deux  Erreurs. 
Miracles,  or  two  Errors. 

11.  Voix  de  V Eglise. 
Voice  of  the  Church. 

12.  Voix  des  Anciens. 
Voice  of  the  Ancients. 

13.  Liberie  des  Cultes. 
On  Religious  Liberty. 

Most  of  these  publications  are  pamphlets  of  from  twenty  pages 
up  to  sixty  or  eighty.  The  last  named  is  a  volume  of  some  200 
pages,  and  was  called  forth  by  the  state  of  things  in  Geneva  last 
year,  and  is  alluded  to  in  the  Discourse  on  Puseyism,  where 
the  author  speaks  of  his  having  played  the  part  of  Cassandra,  in 
what  he  had  said  respecting  the  recent  Revolution  in  his  native 
Canton. 

But  Dr.  Merle's  great  undertaking  is  his  History  of  the  Refor- 
mation in  the  XVIth  Century.  The  first  volume  of  this  admirable 
work  appeared  in  1836. 

Two  others  have,  at  intervals,  followed.  The  author  is  now 
engaged  on  the  fourth,  in  which  he  is  well  advanced.*  It  treats 
of  the  Reformation  in  Great  Britain,  and  is  expected  with  very 
different  feelings,  by  different  religious  parties  in  England.  Nor 
is  its  appearance  anxiously  looked  for  by  people  in  England 
only. 

It  is  not  probable  that  the  fourth  volume  will  appear  in  French 
before  the  end  of  this  present  year,  if  even  so  soon.  The  fifth 
and  sixth  volumes — for  it  is  Dr.  Merle's  intention  to  make  six 
volumes  instead  of  four,  if  God  grant  him  life  and  health — will 

The  fourth  is  just  issued  from  the  press.    1846. 


XX  LIFE  OP  THE  AUTHOR. 

not  be  published  for  some  years.  It  is  no  easy  task  to  write  a 
History  of  the  Reformation  upon  the  plan  which  Dr.  Merle  pur- 
sues,— that  of  making  authentic  documents  speak  for  themselves. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  write  a  critique  on  Dr.  Merle's  work. 
It  needs  it  not.  The  world  has  learned  and  acknowledged  its 
surprising  merits.  It  may  almost  be  said  that  the  History  of  the 
Reformation  was  never  written  until  his  matchless  talent,  for 
judiciously  selecting  and  skilfully  arranging  facts,  and  graphically 
presenting  them  to  the  reader's  mind,  was  brought  to  the  sub- 
ject. With  the  art  of  a  conjuror,  if  I  may  so  speak,  he  causes 
scene  after  scene  to  pass  before  us,  on  which  the  dramatis  per soikb 
are  brought  forward  with  almost  the  vividness  of  the  objects 
which  are  presented  to  the  bodily  eye.  For  the  first  time,  vast 
numbers  of  readers  will  learn  the  true  characters  of  Luther,  and 
Melancthon,  and  Calvin,  and  the  other  Reformers.  And  for  the 
first  time,  the  Reformation,  with  all  the  various  and  boundless 
benefits  which  it  has  conferred  upon  the  world,  is  beginning  to 
be,  in  some  measure,  comprehended  by  mankind. 

Three  translations  of  the  three  volumes  of  this  great  work 
which  have  appeared  have  been  published  in  Great  Britain — 
those  of  Messrs.  Walther,  Kelly,  and  Scott — of  which  the  first 
and  the  last  are  better  than  the  second.  Mr.  Kelly's,  however, 
has  had  a  wider  circulation  in  Great  Britian  than  either  of  the 
others,  because  of  the  low  price  at  which  it  has  been  published. 
Mr.  Scott's  translation  is  the  latest  of  all,  and  is  not  only  ex- 
tremely faithful  but  is  also  accompanied  with  valuable  notes.  It 
is  published  by  the  Messrs.  Blackie,  at  Glasgow,  in  twenty-two 
numbers,  each  for  a  shilling,  and  every  second  one  is  adorned 
with  an  admirable  portrait  of  one  of  the  principal  personages  who 
figured  in  the  Reformation — Luther,  Melancthon,  Tetzel,  Leo  X., 
Calvin,  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  etc.  This  edition  would  be 
called  by  the  French  an  affaire  de  luxe ;  but  no  one  who  could 
aflTord  to  pay  for  it  would  regret  the  difference  of  the  price. 

It  maybe  insignificant  to  remark — but  it  will  answer  some  in- 
quiries which  have  been  addressed  to  me — that  Dr.  Merle  d'Au- 
bigne  is  a  large  fine  looking  man,  of  most  agreeable  manners ; 
and  personally,  as  well  as  mentally  considered,  he  would  be  pro- 
nounced by  every  one  to  be  altogether  worthy  to  speak  of  Mar- 


LIFE  OF  THE  AUTHOR.  XXi 

tin  Luther,  John  Knox,  and  the  other  giants  of  the  Reformation. 
Nevertheless,  I  am  pained  to  say  it,  his  health  does  not  corre- 
spond with  the  robustness  of  his  frame,  nor  the  vigor  of  his  ap- 
pearance. He  suffers  much  at  times  from  complaints  of  the 
chest.  I  am  sure  that  in  making  this  statement,  I  shall  secure 
the  prayers  of  many  a  reader,  that  his  valuable  life  may  be  spared 
many  years  to  bless  the  Church  and  the  world. 

R.  B. 
New  Yoek,  Jan.,  1843. 


COITEITS. 


I. 

PAOB 

HISTORY  OF  CHKISTIANISM, 27 

II. 
THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  VOCATION, 49 

III. 
THE  CHILDREN  OF  CK)D, 67 

IV. 

CONFESSION  OF  THE  NAME  OF  CHRIST, 79 

V. 

CHRISTIANITY  AND   FOREIGN    MISSIONS, lOI 

VI. 

CHRISTIANITY  AND  PROTESTANTISM, .• 125 

VII. 
FAMILY  WORSHIP, 145 

VIII. 
CHRISTIAN  STUDIES, 159 

IX.     ^ 

FAITH  AND  KNOWLEDGE, 1*^ 


Xxiv  CONTENTS. 

X. 

PAGE 

THE  VOICE  OF  THE  CHURCH  ONE, 201 

XI. 
A   VOICE  FROM  ANTIQUITY, 223 

XII. 
LUTHER  AND  CALVIN 245 

XIII. 
PUSEYISM  EXAMINED, 273 


THE  STUDY 


HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIANISM, 


ITS  UTILITY  FOR  THE  PRESENT  EPOCH. 


TRANSLATED  BY  THOMAS  S.  GRIMKE, 

or    CHARLBSTON,    S.    C. 


THi^OL 


HI^RY  P>e.€HRISTIANlSM. 


A  DISCOURSE  DELIVERED  AT  GENEVA,  JAN.  2,  1832. 


Gentlemen, 

My  design  is  to  address  you  ou  the  History  of  the  Re- 
formation in  Germany — in  the  16th  century.  Literature,  the 
Sciences,  the  Arts,  Philosophy,  the  Civil  History  of  nations,  have 
been  successively  in  this  city,  and  in  the  midst  of  you,  subjects  of 
instruction  by  men  justly  celebrated. 

I  invite  you  to  a  new  field — the  history  of  Christianism.* — I 
ought  then  to  assign  the  reasons  of  my  choice.  I  ought  to  dis- 
close the  advantages  which  I  discover  in  the  study  of  that  history 
at  this  epoch. 

You  are,  perhaps,  at  this  very  time,  my  justification. — That  we 
should  believe  it  possible  to  fix  the  attention  of  men  in  our  day  on 
the  history  of  the  Christian  religion ;  that  we  should  command  an 
audience  desirous  of  hearing  it :  this.  Gentlemen,  is  a  sign  of  the 
times.  It  proves  that  men  of  the  world,  absorbed  until  now  in  the 
exterior  forms,  the  ornaments,  the  splendid  dress  of  nations,  and  of 
their  history,  have  at  length  begun  to  consider  what  is,  what  ought 
to  be  their  heart  and  life. 

And  yet,  who  is  it,  who  dares  to  venture  on  this  new  career.' 
Who  dares  to  follow  so  many  men,  admirable  for  genius,  pro- 
found in  knowledge,  and  skilful  in  the  art  of  speakmg;  whose 
privilege  it  is  to  gather  every  winter  in  this  city,  an  audience  of 
every  age,  and  of  both  sexes  .'  Powerful  indeed  must  be  the  mo- 
tive, which  brings  forward  one  who  has  been  called,  it  is  true,  to 
preach  the  everlasting  Gospel ;  but  who  has  never  yet  ventured  to 
speak  save  in  the  Sanctuary,  and  with  the  aid  of  that  holy  office 
which  exalts  the  humblest,  and  animates  the  most  feeble. 

This  motive  is  the  excellence  of  that  study,  to  which  I  invite 
you. 

There  are  in  the  life  of  each  man  in  particular,  and  of  nations 
in  general,  three  great  elements,  politics,  /e/^ers  (comprehending,  of 

*  I  have  used  the  word  Christianism,  instead  of  Christianity,  throughout 
the  translation,  the  former  being  the  term  in  the  original.  It  appears  to  be 
singular  that  Christianism  in  French  should  mean  the  Christian  Religion 
and  Christianity,  Christendom  or  the  nations  professing  itj  whilst  i" 
English  they  signify  the  reverse,  though  the  former  has  both  meanings. — 
TVansIator. 


28  HISTORY    OF    CHRISTIANISM. 

course,  the  sciences,  the  arts,  and  philosophy),  and  religion.  And 
it  might  almost  seem,  as  though  these  three  elements  have  appro- 
priated to  themselves  the  three  great  modifications  of  man.  The 
political  has  engrossed  his  will  and  vigor  of  action.  The  literary, 
his  intelligence,  and  all  the  variety  of  his  imaginations  and  thoughts. 
The  religious,  his  heart  and  the  energy  of  his  affections.  But  re- 
ligion, enthroned  as  it  were  in  ilie  centre,  extends  over  the  whole 
man  her  sceptre  of  power. 

There  are  then,  according  to  these  elements,  three  species  of 
the  history  of  man — the  political,  the  literary,  the  religious.  The 
History  of  Religion,  it  cannot  be  denied,  is  the  least  cultivated  in 
our  day.  How  zealously,  on  the  contrary,  do  not  men  study 
political  history,  believing  that  they  shall  discover  there,  as  augurs 
in  the  entrails  of  victims,  the  prognostics  and  the  key  of  futurity  ? 
How  many  systems  of  histoiy,  now  picturesque,  now  philosophi- 
cal, are  passing  in  review  before  us  !  How  many  eminent  men, 
within  our  own  walls,  has  not  their  narrative  of  national  events 
immortalized !  With  what  ardor  is  not  the  history  of  letters 
studied  !  Who  has  not  read,  again  and  again,  the  Lyceum  of  La 
Harpe,  the  works  of  Ginguene,  of  Schlegel,  of  De  Stael,  of  Sis- 
mondi,  and  of  so  many  others  ?  Still  more  is  done.  Each  fashions 
this  history  for  himself:  he  approaches  these  documents,  these 
materials,  so  formidable  in  the  other  two  departments  ;  he  reads 
them,  again  and  again,  with  delight,  because  they  are  the  master- 
works  of  genius.  Every  educated  man  examines,  compiles, 
judges,  creates  an  entire  history  of  letters  in  his  own  mind. 

But  as  to  the  History  of  Christianism,  who  is  engaged  in  that  ? 
Who  studies  it  ?  A  handful  of  our  contemporaries,  if  indeed  so 
many.  And  yet,  I  regard  it  undoubtedly  the  most  Avorthy  of  the 
attention  of  men  :  as  that  which,  in  our  age,  furnishes  the  most 
salutary  lessons,  and  in  whose  prophetic  entrails  we  shall  learn 
correctly  what  is  sought  in  vain  elsewhere. 

Perhaps  this  first  silting  will  be  suitably  emp)loyed  in  the  en- 
deavor, at  the  outset,  to  remove  the  prejudices  entertained  in  our 
day,  against  studying  the  History  of  Christianism  :  and  I  shall 
afterwards  establish  the  usefulness  of  this  history,  in  the  present 
age  of  the  world. 

One  of  the  distinctive  features  of  the  past  age,  was  a  spirit  of 
profaneness  and  mockery.  The  History  of  Christianism  was  af- 
fected by  it.  This  imposing  edifice,  which  appeared  as  the  ivork 
of  ages,  was  assailed  with  sarcasms,  that  confounded  in  one  sen- 
tence of  condemnation,  Catholicism  and  Chri-stianism,  the  Church 
of  Men  and  the  Church  of  God.  The  structure  of  Men,  which 
might  perhaps  have  resisted  all  serious  assaults,  soon  crumbled 
with  a  loud  crash,  before  the  light  breath  of  ridicule.  But  in  its 
fall,  it  drew  along  with  itself  the  power  which  had  overturned  it. 
Man  passes  not  in  vain  through  such  a  crisis.  He  acquired 
beneath  the  ruins  a  new  temper.  Baptized  in  blood,  our  age 
could  no  longer  exist  in  the  frivolous  atmosphere  of  its  predecessor. 
The  profane  La  Harpe,  in  some  respects  the  successor  of  Voltaire, 
in  the  office  of  President  of  the  Anti-Christian  League,  came  forth 


HISTORY    OF    CHRISTIANISM.  29 

a  Christian  from  the  dungeons  of  the  Eevohition,  into  which  he 
had  been  cast  an  unbeliever.  The  tempest  of  the  Revohition  has 
not,  however,  entirely  swallowed  up  the  impious  spirit  which 
roused  it.  Still  does  it  subsist  among  us,  although  a  stranger  per- 
haps to  the  characteristic  spirit  of  our  age.  The  History  of  Chris- 
tiauism  is  still  assailed  by  ridicule,  ui  which  you  may  jierhaps 
discover,  at  times,  some  grains  of  the  wit  of  Aristophanes  and 
Voltaire.  That  ridicule  must  leave  some  impression  on  light 
minds,  which  may  thus,  for  a  season  at  least,  become  indifferent 
to  grave  and  useful  studies.  It  is  not  expected  of  me  to  answer 
sarcasms  :  one  word  suffices.  Doubtless,  ye  scoffers  of  the  age  ! 
ye  may  find  on  this  or  that  passage  in  the  history  of  Religion,  a 
brilliant  quibble  of  heartless  raillery  ;  but  there  is  in  Christianism 
and  its  annals,  something  beyond  yoi;r  reach.  History  exhibits  it 
as  an  angel,  bearing  from  Asia  to  Europe,  from  Europe  through 
the  whole  Earth,  and  among  all  Nations,  light  and  life:  destroying 
evil  everywhere  in  its  course,  and  leaving  everywhere,  the  in- 
corruptible seeds  of  good.  Whoever  has  met  with  it,  has  been 
liealed  by  the  salutary  influence  which  it  sheds  around.  Before 
such  achievements  of  benevolence,  the  weapons  of  ridicule  are 
impotent.  The  pointed  shafts  of  the  scoffer  never  can  destroy  the 
work  of  God.  Childish  arrogance  only  could  attempt  it :  timid 
vreakness  only  could  fear  it. 

There  are  men  of  a  graver  cast,  though  not  less  incredulous,  who 
attack  with  other  arms,  the  history  of  religion.  What,  they  ask, 
can  the  History  of  Clmstianism  reveal  .'  Why  do  you  thus.^un- 
advisedly  ransack  its  annals  .'  What  can  you  derive  from  them  .' 
Christianism  has  been  injurious  to  humanity.  Man  has  been  kept 
by  it  in  swaddling  clothes.  Its  influence  on  the  civil  and  political 
state  of  Nations  has  been  unfavorable.  Such  Avords  afllict  the 
soul  by  the  deep  ingratitude,  the  utter  blindness  from  which  they 
flow.  We  shall  not  even  mention  the  blessings  of  Christianism  in 
Eternity,  though  these  are  its  chief  object ;  but  shall  stand  on  the 
very  ground  to  which  our  adversaries  challenge  us.  "  Take," 
will  we  say  to  them,  "  a  map:  lay  before  us  a  statistical  view  of 
nations.  Where  is  light.'  and  where  darkness.'  Where  is  lib- 
erty ?  and  where  slavery .'  Do  you  not  observe  the  shadows 
which  rest  on  all  the  unchristianized  States,  and  the  light  which 
covers  Christian  countries  ?  What  is  it,  that  rends  the  black  and 
polluted  veil,  which  hung  so  long  over  the  shores  of  Otaheile,  of 
Eimeo,  of  Hawai .'  What  but  Clu"istiani.sm  .'  Take  now  a  pen- 
cil ;  mark  by  successive  shadows,  the  regions,  where  knowledge, 
morality,  religion,  prevail  the  most ;  you  will  find  but  one  pro- 
gress, that  of  Christianism  itself.  Wherever  the  Gospel  shines  the 
brightest,  there  will  you  behold  most  abundant,  the  chief  bless- 
ings of  humanity.  The  United  States  of  America,  Great  Britain, 
otiier  Evangelical  countries,  Avhcre  the  light  of  the  Eternal  Word 
is  shed  in  all  its  purity,  will  be  at  the  top  of  the  scale :  and  the 
transient  shades  which  lead  us  from  Christian  to  heathen  regions, 
distinguish  those  portions  of  the  earth,  where,  though  Christianism 


30  HISTORY    OF    CHRISTIANISM. 

exists,  it  is  stifled  by  the  human  elements  commixed  with  it.* 
But  why  have  recourse  to  this  geographical  coup  d'aill  The 
history  of  Christianism  will  itself  give  the  answer  to  your  objec- 
tions. There  will  it  be  seen  elevating  gradually  from  age  to  age, 
{he  character  of  nations.  Still  more  :  it  will  there  be  discovered, 
that  even  the  corruptions  of  Christianism,  those,  against  which 
you  contend  the  most  strenuously,  have  been  useful  to  humanity, 
whenever  they  have  retained  the  least  element  of  the  religion  of 
Jesus  Christ.  There  will  you  behold  those  Convents  (the  just 
objects  of  our  reprobation)  becoming,  as  it  were,  unconsciously, 
depositories  for  the  preservation  of  so  many  ancient  monuments 

*  This  passage  recalls  a  similar  one  in  my  Address  before  the  Literary 
and  Philosophical  Society  of  South  Carolina,  delivered  9th  May,  1 827.  It 
is  found  at  pages  23,  24,  25,  of  the  volume  containing  my  principal  pieces 
on  Literature  and  Education,  published  at  New  Haven,  April,  1831,  by  H. 
Howe.     It  is  as  follows : 

"  My  subject  calls,  however,  for  a  free,  impartial  review  of  the  character 
of  the  Reformation,  and  of  its  influence  on  Science;  nor  is  it  possible  to 
examine  the  Histoiy  of  that  period,  in  any  point  of  view,  however  remote 
from  Religion,  without  a  continual  reference  to  the  state  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  in  connection  with  government  and  society,  both  spiritual  and 
temporal — with  the  Arts  and  Sciences — with  the  fortunes  and  characterof 
nations — with  the  education  and  general  welfare  of  the  people.  Consider- 
ing the  Reformation  as  matter  of  history  and  philosophy,  it  must  be  a  chief 
ingredient  in  every  discussion,  on  enlarged  principles,  of  the  state  of  the 
world  for  the  last  three  hundred  years,  of  its  actual  condition  now,  and  of 
its  future  prospects.  Besides,  the  Protestants  of  these  United  States  may 
well  believe  that,  without  the  Reformation,  they  would  have  been  rather 
like  the  South  Americans,  before  the  late  Revolutions,  than  what  they 
now  are,  the  wonder,  and  admiration,  and  example  of  the  world.  They 
may  well  believe,  also,  that  their  Catholic  brethren,  fellow-heirs  of  the 
same  glorious  and  inestimable  heritage  of  Religious,  Political  and  Civil 
Rights,  never  would  have  enjoyed,  in  any  Catholic  country,  the  full 
measure  of  power  and  liberty,  of  property  and  happiness,  which  the 
youngest  child  of  the  Reformation  confers  on  the  eldest  daughter  of  the 
Christian  household.  Under  these  considerations,  and  with  these  senti- 
ments, I  proceed  to  execute  the  task  which  I  have  undertaken ;  satisfied 
that  my  opinions  will  be  those  not  merely  of  a  Protestant,  but  of  an  Ameri- 
can, and  of  a  Man,  the  lover  of  truth,  the  thoughtful  student  of  historical 
philosophy.  In  many  of  the  following  pages,  I  shall  adopt  the  very  lan- 
guage of  Villers ;  especially  in  those  pages  which  express  the  severe,  but 
deliberate  judgment  of  that  invaluable  writer,  as  to  the  degraded  condition 
of  the  whole  circle  of  knowledge,  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century. 

"  I  have  said  that  the  Reformation  only  gave  or  could  have  given  to  all 
LITERATURE,  not  merely  to  the  literature  of  Theology,  a  decisive,  permanent 
character.  To  express  it  otherwise,  my  judgment  is,  that  without  the 
Reformation,  the  revival  of  learning,  which  had  commenced,  would  have 
terminated  as  all  others  had,  in  public  ostentation,  princely  patronage,  and 
the  dazzling  homage  of  Genius  and  Taste,  still  intent 

'To  luap  tlie  shrine  of  luxury  and  pride, 
Witli  incense,  kindkd  at  tlie  Muse's  flame.' 

"  But  THE  PEOPLE,  THE  PEOPLE  would  havc  remained  almost,  if  not  alto- 
gether, in  the  same  degraded  and  miserable  condition,  as  to  civil,  political, 
and  religious  rights,  as  to  education,  as  to  social  improvement,  and  indi- 


HISTORY    OP    CHRISTIANISM.  31 

of  letters,  amidst  the  deluge  of  Northern  Barbarians,  and  when  the 
flood  had  passed,  again  sending  forth  those  treasures.  But  there, 
you  will  especially  behold  that  illustrious  Reformation,  some  of 
whose  features  I  shall  sketch,  which  delivered  the  human  mind 
from  the  chains  which  had  oppressed  it,  and  which  has  become 
to  the  Nations,  the  dawn  of  a  new  day  of  light,  evangelization, 
and  life.  In  its  history,  Christianism  is  everywhere  exhibited  as 
the  friend  of  human  nature. 

But,  you  must  confess,  say  other  men  of  the  age,  that  the  his- 
tory of  Christianity  reveals  to  us  many  things,  intrigues,  wars  and 
the  like,  which  cannot  but  expose  it,  and  diminish  that  respect, 
which  you  demand  for  it.  This  we  deny.  Christianism  is  a  di- 
vine work,  and  of  course  perfectly  pure.  Whatever  has  flowed 
from  itself  is  good.     But,   in  descending  from  Heaven  to  Earth, 

vidual  welfare.  To  illustrate  this  opinion,  let  us  advert  to  the  actual  state 
of  Europe,  before  the  French  Revolution,  bearing  in  mind  the  remark  of 
Montesquieu,  that  Loyola  would  have  governed  the  world,  but  for  Luther 
and  Calvin.  He,  in  defiance  of  the  Reformers,  has  swayed  Italy,  Spain 
and  Portugal:  they  rescued  from  him  and  his  Church,  and  have  ruled 
Holland,  England  and  Scotland.  Ignatius  has  governed  South  America: 
Calvin  and  Luther  these  United  States.  Is  there  now  an  American, 
whether  of  the  Reformed  or  Romish  Creed,  who  would  exchange  the  con- 
dition of  the  Protestant  Countries  which  have  been  named,  for  that  of 
Southern  Europe  or  Southern  America  f  Is  it  not  obvious  that  Society 
has  been  comparatively  stationary  for  3000  years  in  these,  while  Protes- 
tant nations  have  been  continually  advancing?  Look  at  the  wonderful 
progress  of  Holland,  Great  Britain,  and  our  own  country,  since  the  Refor- 
mation. Place  beside  them,  Italy,  Spain,  and  Porlugal,  and  assign,  if 
practicable,  any  adequate  causes  for  the  incalculable  difference,  except  the 
principles  of  the  Reformers.  Every  student  of  the  philosophy  of  history, 
I  feel  assured,  re-echoes  the  sentiment,  these  only  are  the  causes. 
If  then,  as  I  have  already  said,  Science  and  Art  are  nothing  worth,  unless  they 
bless  the  people  as  well  as  adorn  the  State,  and  if,  in  Protestant  countries,  they 
have  thus  blessed,  as  well  as  adorned,  beyond  all  parallel ;  it  becomes  a 
question  most  interesting  and  momentous,  how  have  tl»e  principles  of  the 
Reformers  wrought  this  change  in  the  use  and  application  of  the  whole 
circle  of  knowledge?  I  proceed  to  attempt  an  explanation;  though  I  be- 
lieve that  every  improved  mind  already  comprehends  the  development  of 
my  subject. 

"  The  Reformers  began  with  the  fundamental  pv[ncii[)\e,  the  obligation  and 
correspondent  right  of  private  examination  and  private  judgment.  Thoy  admitted 
no  superior  to  control  and  limit  this  duty  and  this  right,  save  God  and  his 
Scriptures.  Whatever  uninspired  man  had  done  or  could  do,  whether  indi- 
vidually or  collectively,  was  acknowledged  as  a  guide  to  the  understanding, 
but  not  as  authority  to  bind  the  conscience  and  the  judgment.  The  position 
was  taken  that  Man  not  only  had  a  right,  in  regard  to  his  fellow-men,  but 
was  obliged  by  the  law  of  God  to  study  his  Word,  and  by  that  standard,  to 
examine  the  history  of  the  Church;  her  doctrine,  worship,  and  ceremonies; 
the  acts  of  councils  ;  the  writings  of  the  Fathers  and  the  scholastic  theo- 
logy; and  last,  though  not  least,  the  authority  of  the  Pope.  Tins  w.\s,  in 
RELIGION, 'the  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE' — and  by  Its  principles 
the  Reformers  did  for  the  shackled  mind,  what  the  angel  did  for  Peter  in  the 
prison  ;  they  did  for  the  mind's  eye,  what  Ananias  did  for  Paul,  when,  at 
his  touch,  the  Anostle  received  his  sight." — Translator. 


33 


HISTORY    OF    CHRISTIANISM. 


from  God  to  Man,  it  has  suffered  alloy.  Christianism  in  man,  and 
^ven  in  the  holiest  of  men,  is  not  Christianism  in  God,  that  is  to 
say,  in  Jesus  Christ.  Impute  not  to  God,  that  of  which  man  only 
is  guilty.  The  water  which  falls  from  heaven  is  pure,  and  even 
the  purest  of  all,  for  it  has  been  distilled  in  the  wonderful  appara- 
tus of  God.  And  yet,  scarcely  has  it  touched  the  earth,  Avhen  it  is 
already  defiled.  How  often,  alas  !  will  not  the  hardened  heart  of 
man  suffer  the  life-giving  waters  of  Christianism  to  penetrate  his 
bosom  ?  To  those  heavenly  influences  how  obstinately  is  it 
closed.'  Man  drives  away  religion  from  his  heart,  and  is  content 
to  wear  it  without,  as  a  cloak  to  his  sins.  And  then,  the  vulgar 
dignify,  with  the  name  of  Christianism,  what  is  thus  displayed  to 
their  eyes  !  History  will  rend  this  hypocritical  mantle  :  and  will 
reveal  the  passions  which  it  hid,  and  which  were  the  only  moving 
cause  in  him,  who  had  enveloped  himself  thus  artfully.  There 
will  you  see,  for  example,  that  those  irreligious  wars,  called  reli- 
gious, sprang  not  from  Christianity,  but  from  the  immediate  influ- 
ence of  that  very  j)ower  of  evil,  which  Christianism  caiue  to 
destroy.  There  Mali  you  discover,  that  those  maxims  of  the  Gov- 
ernors, of  the  chiefs  of  the  Church,  which  you  justly  condemn  as 
disgraceful,  were  directed  against  the  religion  itself  of  Jesus 
Christ;  that  this  was  the  victim  which  they  immolated,  not  the 
tongue  which  uttei'ed  them.  History  justifies  Cluistianism,  dissi- 
pates every  cloud  and  every  prejudice,  and  all  the  hatred  where- 
with man  has  been  pleased  to  surround  that  sublime  and  hea- 
venly image,  which  d"wells  in  the  midst  of  ages  ;  and  exhibits  it 
to  the  admiration  of  men,  in  all  its  simplicity,  innocence,  beauty 
and  glory. 

If  Christianism  be  innocent  of  all  that  is  usually  laid  to  its 
charge,  at  least,  it  will  be  said,  the  history  of  the  Church  is  the 
most  barren,  the  most  destitute  of  life  and  emotion,  and  conse- 
quently the  least  interesting,  which  can  be  imagined.  Councils 
and  decrees  of  Councils,  Popes  and  bulls,  metaphysical  doctrines, 
subtile  distinctions,  scholastic  systems,  are  not  these  all  that  it 
offers  ?  Doubtless,  it  would  be  strange  that  the  history  of  this 
kingdom  of  God,  which  its  founder  said  should  be  a  living  seed, 
that  would  become  a  great  tree,  full  of  sap,  and  casting  all  around 
its  beneficent  shade  :  or  as  leaven,  which  should  leaven  the  whole 
lump,  that  is,  should  communicate  life  to  the  Avorld  ;  that  such  a 
history  should  abound  in  unfruitfulness  and  subtilty.  Not  so, 
for  there  are  two  histories.  There  is,  if  you  please,  what  we 
shall  call  "  the  History  of  the  Church,"  that  is,  of  human  institu- 
tions, forms,  doctrines,  and  actions;  and  "the  History  of  Chris- 
tianism," which  has  brought  into  the  world,  and  still  preseri'es, 
a  new  life,  a  life  divine  ;  the  history  of  the  government  of  that 
King  who  has  said,  "  the  words  which  I  speak  unto  you  are  spi- 
rit and  life  :  "  the  liistory  of  that  regenerative  influence  of  Chris- 
tianism, through  which  so  many  individuals  and  nations  have  ex- 
perienced a  thorough  change  in  their  moral  and  spiritual  condi- 
tion: the  history  of  the  first  and  second  creation,  Avhich  fashions 
a  people  for  God  upon  earth:  the  history  of  that  invisible  Church, 


HISTORY    OF    CHRISTIANISM.  33 

which  is  the  assembly  of  the  first  born :  Heb  xii.  23.  Most  His- 
torians, it  is  true,  have  hitherto  presented  only  the  barren  history 
of  the  exterior  Church ;  because  they  themselves  were  only  the 
outward  Man,  and  had  scarcely  even  imagined  the  life  of  the 
spiritual  Man.  But  is  this  a  proof  that  it  does  not  exist  ?  Grant 
that  human  forms  have  destroyed  this  new  dominion  of  truth, 
justice  and  love,  which  proceeds  from  the  Father.  Because  you 
see  at  first  only  a  dry  and  hard  shell,  will  you  reject  the  delicious 
fruit  which  is  concealed  under  this  homely  covering?  In  sea- 
sons of  barrenness  and  death,  the  Church  could  only  have  a  life- 
less and  sterile  history.  But  Life,  while  descending  to  the  Church 
of  our  day,  has  descended  also  in  its  history.  Reserve  your  objec- 
tions  for  those  who  may  continue  to  drag  on  in  the  barren  field 
of  rationalism  and  human  opinions.  The  old  man  sees  in  the 
field  of  the  Church  but  dry  bones.  The  new  man  there  discerns 
that  si^irit  which  blows  from  the  four  winds,  and  creates  for  the 
Eternal  "  an  exceeding  great  army,"  Ezek.  xxxvii.  10.  There  is 
then  a  new  History  of  Christianism  :  that  which  Ave  have  underta- 
ken to  unfold  and  defend  :  and  not  the  history  of  human  forms  and 
barrenness. 

"  Do  you  then  imagine  that  you  shall  find  in  Christianism,  life, 
elevation,  generosity,"  says  a  gloomy  philosophy,  which  pretends 
that  the  individual  good  of  each  man  ought  to  be  the  noblest  ob- 
ject of  his  life.  "  What  an  illusion  !  Those  remarkable  actions, 
that  self-sacrifice,  of  which  the  history  of  Christianism  seems  to 
furnish  examples,  are  but  hidden  passions,  ambition,  avarice,  sen- 
suality, envy,  covered  Avith  obvious  veils  :  an  egotism,  somewhat 
more  refined  than  that  of  the  multitude.  The  only  diflerence  be- 
tween the  grcssest  of  men,  and  the  heroes  of  the  Christian  history, 
is  that  these  know  how  to  disguise  somewhat  more  ingeniously 
the  passions  which  govern  them.  And  if  all  be  not  thus  explained, 
a  deplorable  fanaticism  and  enthusiasm  will  account  for  tlie  rest." 
Such  is  the  language  that  has  been  held,  more  especially  of  the 
history  which  I  am  called  to  lay  before  you,  and  of  the  most  illus- 
trious characters  v.'hich  it  presents  to  your  view.  Gloomy  and 
hideous  system  !  which  only  taking  account  of  the  corruption  of 
man,  is  ignorant  of  those  pure  and  sublime  inspirations  which 
]iroceed  from  the  Spirit  of  God :  a  system,  which  overturns  the 
whole  moral  hierarchy,  since  the  most  dissolute  and  the  most 
criminal  of  men  would  be  at  least  sincere,  by  appearing  such  as 
they  really  are  ;  whilst  the  flower  of  humanity,  men  of  disinte- 
restedness and  self-sacrifice,  would  be  a  band  of  deceivers  and 
knaves,  whose  only  aim  would  have  been  to  conceal  the  disgrace- 
ful motives  of  their  actions.  Seriously  to  refute  such  a  system 
would  almost  be  hig'i  treason  against  Divinity  and  humanity. 
The  History  of  Christian  sm  shall  itself  be,  moreover,  the  most 
triumphant  viiulication.  It  will  open  to  you  the  gates  of  a  world, 
different  from  that  uihabited  by  the  natural  man..  It  will  display 
to  you  a  power,  which  a  narrow-minded  philosophy  cannot  com- 
prehend. The  majority  of  men  comprehend  notliing  but  mate- 
rialism. Some,  more  enlightened,  attain  to  rationalism.  Tiie  his- 
2* 


34  HISTORY    OF    CHRTSTIANISM. 

tory  of  Christlanism  will  carry  US  Still  higher.  It  will  disclose  to 
ns  spiritualism,  Avhich  is  the  true,  the  primitive  life  of  man,  of 
which  he  was  deprived,  and  which  Christianism  comes  to  restore. 
It  will  constrain  us  to  acknowledge  that  life  to  be  more  certain, 
more  real,  than  rationalism,  and  even  materialism.  It  will  set 
before  us,  and  we  shall  almost  touch  with  our  hands,  a  strength 
of  faith,  which  is  given  from  above  to  man,  and  which  overcomes 
the  world  and  all  the  passions  of  the  heart.  It  will  teach  us  to 
understand  this  profound  thought, "  The  first  man  is  of  the  earth, 
earthy  ;  but  the  second  man  is  the  Lord  from  heaven.  As  is  the 
earthy  such  are  they  also  that  are  earthy  :  and  as  is  the  heavenly, 
such  are  they  also  that  are  heavenly."     1  Cor.  xv.  47,  •^S. 

"  At  least,  however,"  it  will  be  said,  "  it  is  certain  and  irre- 
futable, that  the  history  of  the  Church  most  frequently  presents  us 
with  controversies,  agitations,  quarrels,  wars.  What  interest 
would  you  have  us  take  in  such  things  .'  How,  indeed,  could  we 
esteem  such  a  history  ?"  Controversies,  agitations,  say  you  ? 
And  are  such  the  motives  for  your  contempt  of  the  History  of 
Christianism  .'  But  let  me  ask  you,  what  beneficent  principle,  what 
fortunate  conception  for  humanity  has  ever  been  established,  with- 
out agitation,  without  a  struggle,  without  a  conflict .'  Philoso- 
phers !  had  not  your  Galileo  a  contest  to  maintain,  whilst  he  was 
teaching  the  movements  of  the  heavens,  and  do  not  yon  honor 
him  the  more  for  it  ?  Literati !  had  not  your  Corneille  to  endure 
discussion  and  criticism,  whilst  he  Avas  creating  the  language  and 
poetry  of  France .'  And  you,  ye  Liberals  of  the  age  !  who,  per- 
haps, chiefly  assail  the  history  of  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  was 
your  Mirabeau  without  combats  in  the  tribune  ?  and  when  he  blew 
the  trumpet  of  new-born  liberty,  was  the  war,  of  which  he 
sounded  the  signal,  a  short  one  ?  or  rather,  are  we  not  now  as  be- 
tween two  armies  of  nations,  in  battle  array  against  each  other, 
brandishing  with  imiiatience  the  arms  which  must  decide  the 
victory  ?  And  Christianism,  which  attacks  man  in  his  dearest 
passions,  though  they  are  ihe  very  cause  of  his  misfortunes,  in  his 
love  of  riches,  his  ambition,  his  vain-glory,  in  a  word,  in  this 
inferior  self,  which  man  idolizes,  and  of  which  a  sublimer  self  is 
the  slave,  shall  this  Christianism  be  alone  exempt  from,  struggles 
and  contests  ?  The  burthened  atmosphere  is  only  purified  by  tem- 
pests :  and  the  crisis  of  his  disorder  is  deliverance  to  the  sick. 
And,  in  like  manner,  tliat  truth  may  possess  the  earth,  she  must 
combat  hand  to  hand  with  error.  But  the  end,  the  result  of  Chris- 
tianism is  peace.  Peace  upon  earth  .'  Such  was  the  cry  from 
Heaven,  when  the  earth  received  its  Saviour.  We  are  marching 
onwards  to  peace — Let  us  then  march  onwards,  if  necessary, 
through  the  fire  of  battle. 

But  I  am  deceived  if  the  history  of  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ 
do  not  present  to  you  far  other  objects  than  agitations  and  troubles 
It  exhibits  a  phenomenon  altogether  unique,  and  to  be  found 
nowhere  else.  It  offers  to  you  peace,  in  the  midst  of  trouble : 
meekness  of  spirit  amidst  the  conflagration  of  the  passions.  It 
will  lead  you  to  the  sanctuary  of  the  men  of  God ;  and  whilst 


HISTORY    OF    CHRISTIANISM.  35 

around  thein,  agitations,  conspiracies,  and  terrible  cries  prevail, 
you  shall  behold  them  calm,  cheerful,  and  full  of  a  peace  which 
passeth  all  understanding-.  Satisfied  with  having  borne  witness  to 
the  truth,  they  have  committed  their  cause  to  the  Eternal,  and  re- 
main tranquil  and  at  rest,  waiting  on  him.  Of  this,  the  history  of 
the  Reformation  and  of  that  of  Luther,  in  particular,  will  furnish 
you  illustrious  examples.  The  history  of  Christianism  makes 
known  the  only  real  peace  which  has  ever  been  upon  earth. 

Are  not  such  studies,  say  respectable  men,  but  of  unsettled 
opinions,  at  least  fitted  to  confuse  its  on  religious  subjects,  to  strip 
us  of  our  faith,  and  to  lead  us  into  skepticism  and  incredulity  .' 
There  is  nothing,  after  the  Word  of  God,  better  suited  to  save  us 
from  incredulity  and  superstition,  and  to  attach  us  to  true  Chris- 
tianism, than  the  history  of  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ.     Undoubt- 
edly, if  you  take   one  Ecclesiastical  Historian,  who  presents  a 
Religion  and  the  Church  in  Popes  and  Councils ;  or  another  who 
arrays  them  in  a  meagre  natural  theology,  lightly  shaded  with 
Christianism,  and  in  the  barren  instructions  of  human  reason ;  or 
another  still,  who  exhibits  them  through  metaphysical  dogmas  or 
scholastic  distinctions — such  would  undoubtedly  disgust  you  with 
what  each  would   call  religion.      But  where  is  the  great  evil  ? 
Take,  on  the  contrary,  a  historian,  who  presents  to  you  the  religion 
of  Jesus  Christ,  such  as  it  is  in  reality,  "  the  light  and  the  life  of 
the  world."     Such  a  history,  I  feel  assured,  would  make  you  love 
that  religion.     There  is  still  more.     If  other  considerations  have 
shaken  your  faith,  this  study  will  strengthen  it.     The  enemies  of 
Religion,  of  Christianism,  and  of  the  Reformation,  in  particular, 
will  perhaps  exclaim,  that  craft,  enthusiasm,  credulity  or  incre- 
dulity, have  accomplished  these  two  great  revolutions  in  the  world. 
They  will  tell  you  that  men  had  not  time  to  examine  :  that  they 
were  accomplished  by  means  of  a  commotion,  from  which  man- 
kind were  astonished  to  find  that  they  had  come  forth  Christian 
and  Protestant.     Let  us  stretch  forth  the  torch  of  history,  and  all 
these  phantoms  of  a  hostile  imagination  instantly  vanish.     Then 
do  you  see  how  everything  has  been  examined,  discussed,  tried; 
how  every  inch  of  ground  has  been  defended  by  the  adversary. 
Abandoning  the  field  of  history,  does  he  occupy  that  of  reasoning  ? 
Are  you  gravely  a.ssured  that  Christianism  is  contrary  to  human 
reason.'    Are  all  those  objections  rei)eated,so  much  boasted  of  in 
our  day,  as  the  fruits  of  the  advancement  of  the  age,  and  aimed 
against  religion  itself,  against  the  Divinity  of  the  Saviour,  salvation 
by  grace,  and  the  fall  of  man .'     History  still  has  something  to  say. 
She  teaches  you  that  these  are  shafts,  long  since  used  and  broken  ; 
the  ideas  of  Greek  and  Pagan  authors  revived  ;  for  she  will  point 
you  to  them  in  Celsus,  and  Porphyry,  and  Hierocles,  Greek  and 
Heathen  Av^riters.     On  tlie  one  hand,  history  shows  that  all  these 
objections,  so  vaunted  in  our  day,  were  employed  from  the  earliest 
ages,  against  truth  and  the  Church,  which  is  its  depository  :  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  she  shows  you  that  very  Church,  advancing 
unceasingly  amidst  these  assaults,  growing,  and  extending  every- 
where its  benefits.     Fear  not  then  ;  for  these  assaults  will  no  more 


36  HISTORY    OF    CHRISTIANISM. 

injure  the  Church  and  arrest  its  progress  now,  than  they  have 
hitherto.  During  eighteen  centuries,  the  httle  prejudices  of  the 
human  mind  have  accustomed  it  to  these  attacks  ;  and  with  little 
or  no  anxiety  on  these  subjects,  the  Church  marches  onward 
through  eighteen  centuries,  to  the  triumph  which  her  Head  is  pre- 
paring for  her. 

But  is  there  not  reason  to  fear,  that  the  history  of  the  Church, 
and  of  the  Eeformation  in  particular,  may  revive  polemics,  above 
all  against  the  Roman  Catholics,  and  may  re-open  the  wounds  of 
the  Western  Church,  as  yet  but  imperfectly  healed  ?  I  believe  the 
reverse.  History  will  doubtless  show  us,  in  a  general  way,  truth 
on  one  side  and  error  on  the  other.  But  she  Avill  also  show  us 
good  and  evil  mixed  here  and  there ;  she  will  show  us,  on  the 
side  of  the  Catholics,  many  a  true  Christian,  although  in  some 
respects  certainly  but  little  enlightened ;  and  on  the  side  of  the 
Protestants,  many  a  man  im worthy  of  that  name.  She  will  show 
us  Catholicism,  adding  without  doubt  many  things  to  the  Word 
of  God,  and  preserving  nevertheless  most  of  the  fundamental  doc- 
trines of  Christianism,  the  depravity  of  man,  salvation  through  the 
atonement,  the  essential  divinity  of  the  Redeemer,  the  indispen- 
sable work  of  the  Holy  Sj^irit  in  the  heart.  And  to  pass  thence  to 
the  history  of  the  Reformation — I  shall  be  a  Protestant — I  pro- 
claim beforehand — Yet  not  as  a  sectarian,  but  as  a  Christian.  I 
desire  not  to  be  unmindful  of  the  resjDect  which  is  due  to  men,  in 
whose  ranks  have  shone  the  names  of  Laurence  de  Bibra,  Sado- 
let,  Borromeo,  Vincent  de  Paul,  Pascal,  Fenelon.  It  shall  not  be 
my  province  to  strike  Catholicism  with  redoubled  blows :  that 
was  the  affair  of  I-uther's  age ;  it  was  done  then,  and  is  not  the 
business  of  our  age  :  but  it  shall  be  alone  my  object,  if  I  can  ac- 
complish it,  to  invest  with  a  touching  influence  the  living  princi- 
ple, which  produced  in  the  sixteenth  century  a  great  religious 
regeneration,  and  which  must  produce  the  same  in  our  day.  I 
shall  notice  the  evil  deeds  of  Protestants  when  I  meet  \vith  them. 
I  shall  notice  the  good  actions  of  Catholics  whenever  I  see  them  : 
and  perhaps  a  favorable  trait  incidentally  mentioned  by  a  narra- 
tor (I  cannot  say  by  a  historian)  of  the  Reformation,  will  soothe  the 
mind  more  readily  than  apologies  for  Catholicism,  in  the  mouth  of 
one  of  its  priests. 

But  then  it  is  lastly  said,  you  must  confess  that  the  study  of 
Christianism  is  advantageous  to  theologians  only  :  but  that  we 
have  nothing  to  do  with  it;  that  to  us  it  is  useless.  I  take  the  dis- 
tinction :  certainly  it  is  not  necessary  to  salvation :  the  know- 
ledge of  Jesus  Christ  is  alone  sufficient :  and  if  we  were  address- 
ing those  who  were  indifferent  to  all  history,  we  should  perhaps 
be  less  favorably  situated  for  a  reply.  But  Ave  address  an  audi- 
ence, who  have  not  neglected  the  literary  and  political  history  of 
Nations.  We  then  say  to  you — Why  should  you  reject  that  of 
Christianism  ?  If  this  concerns  only  divines,  assuredly  political 
history  is  the  province  only  of  Magistrates  and  Princes.  When- 
ever the  members  of  Councils  of  State,  and  of  some  other  bodies, 
shall  be  the  only  students  of  civil  history,  I  may  understand  that 


HISTORY    OF    CHRISTIANISM.  37 

only  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  should  devote  themselves  to  religious 
history.  If  there  be  a  history  which  you  desired  to  study,  ought 
not  that  of  religion  to  stand  first  ?  Of  the  three  great  elements  of 
history — politics,  letters,  religion — is  not  religion  the  most  univer- 
sal, and  that  which  ought,  above  all,  to  interest  each  member  of 
society  ?  Had  you  not  a  soul  and  a  God,  before  you  had  literary 
and  political  sympathies  ?  Is  not  religion  paramount  in  whatever 
is  most  dear  and  sacred  in  man  ?  Let  us  grant  that  hitherto  you 
have  repelled  religion  as  to  yourselves,  and  that  you  desire  to 
study  that  only  which  influences  the  destinies  of  man,  is  not 
Christianism  the  moving  principle  of  political  development,  of  in- 
tellectual labor  ?  What  but  this  has  given,  and  still  gives,  the  most 
powerful  influence  to  the  social  life,  to  the  literary  genius  of  mod- 
ern nations  ?  The  study  of  the  History  of  Christianism  useless !  Is 
not  this  to  say  it  is  useless  in  a  steam-boat,  to  study  the  machinery 
which  communicates  motion  to  the  Avhole  vessel ;  that  it  is  suffi- 
cient to  study  the  vessel  itself,  the  planks  and  rigging,  which  that 
machinery  impels.  The  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  machinery 
which  moves  the  world. 

Bat  this  very  usefulness  of  that  religion,  especially  at  this 
present  time,  remains  to  be  laid  before  you. 

Jesus  Christ  founded,  in  the  midst  of  men,  a  kingdom  of  God  ; 
and  thenceforward  the  history  of  the  human  race,  composed  till 
then  but  of  scattered,  unconnected  fragments,  jiossesscd  a  centre, 
to  which  everything  might  and  ought  to  be  referred.  This  divine 
kingdom  gave  unity  to  the  Nations  of  the  Earth,  and  to  their 
history — and  through  it,  isolated  members  became  a  body. 

One  of  the  noblest  and  most  essential  ideas  of  our  age,  as  yet, 
perhaps  but  indistinctly  traced  on  many  minds,  but  which  must 
continnally  become  more  and  more  the  fundamental  thought  of 
those  who  reflect  and  believe,  i.s  that  in  the  new  period  now 
opening  before  us,  there  will  be  no  longer,  so  to  sjieak,  a  personal 
history  of  nations,  but  a  great  history  of  human  nature.  Our  age 
is  the  centre,  where  the  numerous  threads  from  various  points  are 
united,  and  thence  issue  in  one  cord.  And  what  is  this  new 
period,  but  the  fulfihuent  of  the  destinies  of  Christianism  ?  Whilst 
some  philosophers  saw  indistinctly,  but  yesterday,  something  of 
this  vast  centralization  of  the  races  of  men,  Christianism,  opening 
the  annals  of  a  peo]ile,  who  had  crucified  their  divine  and  eternal 
foiuider,  exhibits  there  to  the  world  the  annunciation  of  this 
mighty  event  in  the  histoiy  of  man,  declared  two  thousand  years 
before  its  occurrence,  to  Abraham  the  Chaldean,"  in  thee  shall  all 
families  of  the  Earrh  be  blessed,"  Gen.  xii  3  :  and  proclaimed 
still  more  clearly  two  hundred  years  after,  by  an  old  man  to  his 
children,  around  his  death-bed,  when  casting  a  prophetic  look  on 
the  future,  and  announcing  this  Messenger,  who  was  to  issue  from 
the  midst  of  them,  he  adds,  "  Unto  him  .shall  tiie  gathering  of  the 
people  be,"  Gen.  xlix.  10.  Words  of  peace,  which  that  mysterious 
person,  when  he  appeared  here  below,  rejjeats  to  his  disciples 
in  language  still  more  striking,  if  that  be  possible,  "  There  shall 
be  one   fold   and  one  shepherd,''    John  x.  IG.     Tlie  religions  of 


89  HISTORY    OF    CHRISTIANISM. 

antiquity  rendered  impossible  this  vast  assembly  of  nations. 
Like  the  languages  of  Babel,  they  were  so  many  walls,  which 
separated  nations  from  one  another.  The  tribes  of  the  Earth  wor- 
shipped only  National  Gods — those  Gods  only  suited  the  nations 
who  made  Ihem.  They  had  no  points  of  contact,  none  of  sympa- 
thy with  any  other  people.  Falsehood  has  a  thousand  strange 
faces,  not  resembling  each  other.  Truth  only  is  one,  and  this  only 
can  unite  all  the  races  of  men.  The  idea  of  a  imiversal  kingdom 
of  truth  and  holiness  was  a  stranger  to  the  ancient  world.  And 
if  some  sages  had  a  vague  and  obscure  presentiment  of  it ;  with 
them  it  was  but  a  conception  without  the  possibility  of  their  even 
imagining  what  might  be  its  reality.  Christ  came  and  immediately 
accomplished  Avhat  the  religions  and  sages  of  the  world  had  not 
even  been  able  to  foresee.  He  founds  a  spiritual  kingdom,  to  which 
all  Nations  are  called.  He  overturns,  according  to  the  energetic  lan- 
guage of  his  Apostle,  the  fences,  the  middle  wall  of  partition 
which  divided  nations,  and  "  hath  made  both  one" — "  for  to  make 
in  himself  of  twain,  one  new  man,  so  making  peace."  Eph.  ii. 
14,  15.  Christianism  is  not  like  the  ancient  religions,  a  doctrine 
adapted  to  a  certain  degree  of  development  in  nations ;  it  is  a 
truth  from  heaven,  which  is  able  at  the  same  time  to  act  on  man 
under  every  grade  of  improvement  and  climate.  It  bestows  on 
human  nature,  whatever  may  be  its  rudeness,  or  the  diversities  of 
changes  which  letters  and  philosophy  may  have  produced,  the 
principle  of  a  new  and  truly  divine  life.  And  this  life  is  to  be  at 
once  the  great  means  of  development  to  all  nations,  and  the  centre 
of  their  unity.  With  its  appearance,  commenced  in  the  universe, 
the  only  real  cosmopolitism.  Citizens  of  Judea,  of  Pontus,  of 
Greece,  of  Egypt,  of  Rome,  till  then  mutual  enemies,  embrace 
like  brothers.  Christianism  is  that  tree,  of  which  the  Scriptures 
speak,  who.se  leaves  are  "  for  the  healing  of  the  nations.'*  Apocal. 
xxii.  V.  2.  It  acts  at  the  same  time  on  the  most  opposite  states 
of  society.  It  regenerates  and  vivifies  the  world,  corrupted  by  the 
Cassars  ;  and  soon  after  softens  and  civilizes  the  barbarous  hordes 
of  the  North.  And,  at  this  very  time,  it  produces  similar  effects  on 
the  citizens  of  London,  Paris,  and  Berlin,  and  on  the  savages  of 
Greenland,  Caffraria,  and  the  Sandwich  Islands.  The  net  is  cast 
over  the  Avhole  earth,  and  the  day  cometh  when  a  heavenly  hand 
shall  hold  captive  in  it  all  the  races  of  men.  Ye  have  perceived, 
men  of  the  age,  that  we  are  passing  out  of  the  period  of  nations, 
and  entering  on  that  of  human  nature  ;  but  fashion  not  for  your- 
selves a  paltry  standard  for  the  union  of  nations.  A  new  hier- 
archy, with  its  common  frame,  cannot  be  the  bond  of  unity,  nor 
political  liberalism,  which  carries  tempests  and  discord  in  its 
bosom.  Christ  is  this  ensign  of  which  the  prophet  speaks.  Is.  xi. 
12.;  and  around  which  "  shall  the  gathering  of  the  people  be," 
Gen.  xlix.  10. 

But  whilst  many  in  our  day  hail,  at  this  moment,  the  dawn  of  a 
new  re-organization,  others,  on  the  contrary,  behold  in  it  only  an 
epoch  of  dissolution.  And  these  two  opinions,  apparently  oppo- 
site, are  perfectly  harmonious;  since  dissolution  must  precede  re- 


HISTORY    OF    CHRISTIANISM.  39 

organization.  The  two  great  powers  of  man  have  been  unable  to 
resolve  the  problem  of  human  nature.  The  hierarchy  had  under- 
taken it,  but  failed  :  and  the  iron  arm  of  Rome  was  broken. 
Human  philosophy  rushed  into  its  place,  and  said  :  I  will  accom- 
plish it.  But  the  disorder  of  the  nations  has  increased  in  a  fright- 
ful ratio.  There  remains  the  power  of  God,  or  Cliristianism,  which 
already,  while  human  power  was  making  its  trials,  has  laid  every- 
where the  foundations  of  the  new  edifice.  And  it  will  succeed. 
Do  you  exclaim  that,  iu  our  day,  men  walk  in  uncertainty : 
that  all  the  doctrines  for  the  welfare  of  nations  are  doubtfnl .' 
It  is  true,  that  all  does  seem  in  our  day  to  be  dissolving.  But,  0 
man  !  listen  to  thy  ma.ster,  a  master  of  eighteen  centuries  old,  who 
has  assisted  more  than  once  at  the  decline  and  elevation  of  nations, 
at  the  decomjiosition  and  recomposition  of  the  world,  and  who 
has  been  the  great  organic  principle  of  nations.  Listen  to  what  it 
has  been,  to  know  what  it  will  be ;  and  to  what  it  has  done,  to 
know  what  it  will  do.  Christianism  is  totally  difTerent  from  the 
religions  of  men.  In  these,  it  is  man  who  gives  strength  to  reli- 
gion :  in  that,  religion  gives  strength  to  man.  Whilst  the  Repub- 
lic was  counting  its  days  of  glory,  the  gods  of  Rome  shone  with 
the  greatest  lustre.  But  when  corruption  had  seized  on  domestic 
life,  when  personal  ambition  and  venality  had  assailed  public  life, 
religion,  worm-eaten  at  the  base,  decays  and  disappears  with  them. 
Jupiter  falls,  and  is  buried  under  the  ruins  of  his  own  cajiital. 
Christianism,  on  the  contrary,  independent  of  man,  remains  firm 
amidst  the  fall  of  nations  (their  annals  testify  this),  and  renews  the 
world  by  its  power.  When  all  the  social  forms  of  hinnanity  are 
destroyed,  as  at  the  epoch  of  the  invasion  of  the  Barbarians,  the 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ  remains  upright  on  their  ruins,  and  her 
hand  scatters  amid  the  chaos  that  seed,  whence  humanity  shall 
rise  anew.  Fear  not  the  mournful  state  of  the  world,  at  this  time. 
History,  and  especially  that  which  we  shall  lay  before  you,  de- 
monstrates that  when  corruption  has  extended  its  ravages  the 
farthest  over  the  world,  the  Divine  power  of  Christianism,  which 
has  not  its  roots  in  the  entrails  of  human  nature,  rises  with  the 
greatest  power.  The  Spirit  of  God  is  moving  on  the  chaos,  and 
out  of  it  he  will  bring  forth  a  new  earth. 

But  the  history  of  Chri.'tianism  will  teach  you,  moreover,  that  thi.'S 
religion  is  the  instrument  which  he  has  chosen  to  accomplish  his 
work.  It  will  exhibit  her  mode  of  action,  not  as  a  continued  influ- 
ence, but  as  a  succession  of  struggles  and  combats.  The  essence 
of  Christianism  is  conflict  with  the  world.  And  thus  the  true 
Church  of  Christ  hath  appeared  from  the  beginning,  as  "  militant" 
amidst  the  nations.  Already  have  two  enemies  successively 
assailed  her,  and  been  vanquished,  however  easily  they  promised 
to  crush  her.  At  first,  she  had  to  combat  without  against  the 
idolatry  and  vices  of  Paganism.  Paganism  fell.  But  scarcely  had 
this  victoiy  been  gained,  when  the  danger  appeared  in  the  bosom 
of  the  Church.  Whilst  men  slept,  according  to  the  parable  of  the 
Divine  and  Eternal  founder  of  Christianism,  the  enemy  came  and 
sowed  tares  among  the  wheat,  iVlatt.  xiii.  25.     The  evil  continued 


40  HISTORY    OF    CHRISTIANISM. 

to  increase.  The  Church  had  been  founded  that  man  might  seek 
for  heaven  in  it,  and  there  he  sought  only  the  world.  Then  the 
true  Church  shook  off  the  dust  of  death.  Arrayed  as  it  were,  in 
an  instant,  in  the  siairitual  armor  which  God  had  prepared  for  her, 
she  began  a  war,  the  most  terrible,  because  intestine.  Rome, 
vigorously  assailed,  tottered,  and  the  crown  fell  from  her  head. 
This  war  we  propose  to  lay  before  you.  It  remains  for  Christian- 
ism  to  obtain  a  final  victory.  An  enemy,  who  is  neither  within 
nor  without,  as  were  the  two  first,  or  rather  who  is  both  at  the 
same  time,  advances  to  the  last  assault.  I  refer  to  the  incredulous, 
anti-christian  spirit  of  the  age.  More  powerful,  more  terrible  still, 
than  the  two  first  adversaries,  he  casts  upon  Christianism  that  look 
of  disdain,  which  the  god  of  the  capitol  once  cast  on  the  citizens 
of  Tarsus,  in  chains  at  their  feet ;  and  whicli,  fifteen  centuries  after, 
Leo  and  the  magnificent  Court  of  the  Medici  cast,  with  a  smile, 
into  the  obscure  cell  of  an  Augustin  monk.  Still  more  may  be  said. 
The  anti-christian  spirit  of  the  world,  now  lifting  his  banner  so 
high,  does  not  suspect  the  enemy  which  is  to  vanquish  him.  And 
yet  he  will  be  conquered  ;  and  the  formidable  giant  of  the  age, 
who  defies  the  God  of  the  armies  of  Israel  (1  Sam.  xvii.  45.),  struck 
in  the  forehead,  shall  fall  with  his  face  to  the  earth,  under  the  sling 
of  the  enemy  whom  he  has  despised. 

Is  the  question  asked,  by  what  arms  shall  this  victory  be  gain- 
ed ?  Here,  again,  the  History  of  Christianism  will  give  the  an- 
swer. It  shows  you  that  this  religion  has  twice  regenerated  the 
world,  at  least  partially,  by  doctrines  entirely  its  own.  To  pre- 
tend that  the  religious  system,  which  is  to  accomplish  the  grand 
solution,  desired  by  all,  consists  of  those  general  ideas  of  religion, 
to  be  found  in  Rabbinical  Judaism,  in  Mahometanism,  and  even 
in  Pagan  Philosophy,  is  a  strange  error :  for  these  ideas  never 
have  produced  the  regeneration  of  the  people,  who  have  known 
them.  The  power  of  Christianism  lies  in  its  peculiarity.  It 
compels  man  to  feel  the  astonishing  contrast,  between  his  whole 
life,  and  the  law  of  its  holiness.  It  produces  in  him  the  desire  of 
deliverance  from  so  miserable  a  condition.  It  reveals  to  him  the 
magnificent  work,  which  the  mercy  of  a  God  has  accomplished 
for  his  rescue,  in  the  death  of  the  Cross.  It  proclaims,  by  the 
command  of  the  King  of  the  world,  an  entire  amnesty  through 
all  the  world.  Now,  we  maintain  two  things.  First,  that  this 
news  of  a  full  pardon  of  a  perfect  amnesty  proclaimed  upon 
earth,  that  rebellious  province  of  the  empire  of  the  King  of  kings, 
is  alone  capable  of  touching,  of  changing  the  heart  of  man,  and 
of  inclining  him  through  love  to  obey  the  Sovereign  who  reclaims 
them.  Ye  politicians  of  the  age,  what  advice  would  you  give  to 
a  kuig  for  the  establishment  of  peace  and  subordination,  in  the 
midst  of  a  rebellious  peojile  ?  Classifications,  conditions,  scaf- 
folds .'  or  a  generous  amnesty  Avithout  reserve,  calculated  to  win 
all  hearts  .'  And  we  maintain,  secondly,  that  the  submission  of  the 
heart  to  God,  the  inward  power  of  Christianism,  is  the  only 
power  which  can  now  heal  the  diseases  of  nations.  Every  bond 
is  broken.     Selfishness  and  the  spirit  of  censure  are  universal. 


HISTORY    OF    CHRIf5TlANISM.  41 

There  are  but  two  methods  for  the  re-establishment  of  order  and 
peace,  among  the  rismg  and  agitated  masses  :  exterior  and  vio- 
lent measures  of  compression :  or  the  interior  persuasive  power 
of  ChrJstianism.  What  do  I  say  ?  There  is  but  one  ;  for  as  to 
the  first,  all  nations  have  shown  its  inefficiency.  Three  days 
have  sufficed.  By  destroying  selfishness,  and  planting  in  the 
hearts  of  all,  the  love  of  God  and  the  love  of  man,  Christianism 
alone  will  resolve  the  great  problem,  and  establish  liberty  among 
the  nations  with  order  and  peace.*  These  truths,  taught  by  the 
nature  of  things,  history  will  confirm.  As  to  the  first,  she  will  dis- 
close to  us  the  unheard  of  powers  of  Christianism ;  she  will 
prove  to  us  that  these  doctrines  can  accomplish  an  actual  second 
birth  of  human  nature.  And  as  to  the  second,  contemporaneous  his- 
tory shall  instruct  us.  Inquire  of  her  in  what  nations  order  and 
liberty  are  the  most  closely  united,  and  she  will  answer  by  point- 
ing to  the  countries  where  the  Gospel  is  the  most  openly  pro- 
claimed, the  most  universally  believed.  But  above  all,  history 
will  show  that  a  power  not  of  man  hath  produced  these  partial 
regenerations  which  are  symbols  and  precursors  of  that  universal 
regeneration,  announced  by  Christianism.  Call  this  power,  God, 
or  the  Spirit  of  God,  or  even  Providence — the  name  is  of  little  con- 
sequence— the  fact  is  certain,  something  hath  descended  from 
heaven.  Such  is  the  present  state  of  the  world,  that  whoever  be- 
lieves not  in  this  jsower,  as  independent  of  the  world,  may  well 
despair.  But  for  ourselves,  nothing  terrifies  us.  "  Give  me,"  said 
Archimedes,  "  a  place  to  stand  on,  and  I  will  move  the  earth." 
Christianism  is  that  point  beyond  the  world,  from  which  it  shall 
be  one  day  entirely  displaced  ;  and  shall  revolve  on  a  new  axis  of 

*  These  reflections  of  our  author  induce  me  to  place  in  a  note,  two 
passages  of  the  same  Address,  referred  to  in  Note  3.  They  are  found  in 
the  same  volume,  at  pages  17  and  28. 

"And  do  we  not  see  that  the  total  failure  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans  in 
political  pliilosophy  is  due  to  the  same  cause,  as  their  failure  in  morals  ? 
viz.  an  ignorance  of  the  only  true  foundations  of  society  and  government, 
of  the  autViority  of  public,  and  the  obedience  of  private  men,  of  the  political 
and  civil  rights  of  the  citizen?  All  these,  according  to  the  wise  principles 
and  experienced  judgment  of  modern  times,  are  laid  in  moral  obligation, 
with  God  as  its  author,  and  Man  as  its  subject.  In  a  word,  the  code  of 
public  morals  is  founded  on  the  code  of  private  morals.  Government  is 
regarded  as  an  institution  for  the  good  of  society,  and  rulers  but  as  agents; 
whilst  the  relative  rights  and  duties  of  the  governor  and  the  governed  are 
referred  to  the  plain,  practical  sense,  to  the  divine,  yet  simple  wisdom,  to 
the  pure,  the  just,  the  immutable  principles  of  Christian  morals.  In  fine, 
the  New  Testament  is  the  moral  constitution  of  modern  society.^' 

"  The  grand  result  of  all  the  principles  of  the  Reformation,  and  of  all  the 
considerations  flowing  from  them,  is  worthy  of  such  a  cause,  and  of  such 
champions,  as  the  Reformers.  It  centres  in  two  words — duty  and  useful- 
ness :  Duty,  as  the  only  criterion  of  right ;  usefidness,  as  the  only  standard  of  merit. 
In  a  word,  the  Reformation  ordained,  not  only  for  its  own  day,  and  the 
communities  of  that  day,  but  for  all  time,  and  for  all  nations,  that  the  New 
Testament  is  the  only  gcmmic  moral  constitution  of  Society,  and  its  principles,  the 
only  safe  and  wise  foundation  of  all  civil  and  political  establishments.' — Trans- 

I.ATOK, 


42  HISTORY    OF    CHRISTIANISM. 

righteousness  and  peace.  Then  shall  be  poured  out  on  all  nations 
a  mighty  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  Such  are  the  most  ancient 
promises.  The  Trojan  war  had  just  closed,*  and  Rome  was  not 
yet  founded,  when,  in  the  midst  of  the  people  to  whom  God  had 
entrusted  the  germs  of  religion  for  all  the  nations  of  the  earth, 
these  prophetic  words  resounded,  "  until  the  Spirit  be  poured  upon 
us  from  on  high,"  "  and  the  work  of  righteousness  shall  be  peace." 
Isaiah,  xxxii.  15,  17. 

Do  you  desire  to  know  the  obstacles  which  this  renovation  of 
human  nature  has  to  encoun  ter ,  so  that  you  may  wisely  remove  them. 
The  history  of  Christianism  will  point  them  out.  They  have  been 
the  same  at  all  times.  A  wisdom,  shall  I  say,  or  a  folly,  altogether 
earthly  and  carnal,  which  ridicules  divine  things,  and  would  con- 
tract God  and  his  kingdom  to  the  narrow  dimensions  of  its  own 
scale ;  a  priestly  despotism,  which  claims  alone  the  privilege  of 
managing  heavenly  things,  which  turns  a  deaf  ear  to  examination 
and  research  into  the  Divine  Word,  and  materializes  religion:  a 
fanaticism,  which  opposes  with  all  its  might  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth ;  which,  being  hostile  to  liberty,  would  silence  those  who 
utter  it ;  which  labors  to  arm  public  opinion  against  Christianism 
and  Christians, — whatever  may  be  the  name  which  fanaticism 
bears,  such  as  Jewish,  Pagan,  Dominican,  or  falsely  liberal  and 
philosophic — such  are  the  principal  obstacles  which  the  History 
of  Christianism  exhibits. 

Do  you  ask  with  the  Age  for  movement,  for  progress  ?  History 
will  show  you  that  Christianism  is  the  religion  of  progress  :  and 
that  she  calls  man  by  continual  advancements,  to  the  liberty  and 
the  glory  of  the  children  of  God.  Let  us  carefully  remark,  that 
there  are  only  two  spheres,  in  which  advancement  can  be  made — 
viz.  in  the  religion  destined  to  renew  mankind,  or  in  man  himself 
called  to  be  renewed.  The  man  of  our  Age  ascribes  this  progress  to 
religion :  Religion — to  man  himself.  Christianism  came  forth  per- 
fect from  God,  and  is  luichangeable  as  its  author.  Thou,  0  Man! 
art  thus  continually  to  advance  :  and  in  like  manner  that  immense 
Christian  Society,  wliich  the  truth  enlightens.  The  sun  is  not 
himself  advancing  to  perfection ;  but  perfectionates  the  shrub, 
which,  receiving  life  from  him,  becomes  a  majestic  tree.  It  is  the 
same  with  Christianism  and  man.     The  Gospel  places  the  goal, 

*  According  to  the  usual  chronology,  the  Trojan  war  happened  at  the 
very  commencenaent  of  the  12th  century  (B.  C.  1193)  before  the  Christian 
aBra.  Isaiah  prophesied  B.  C.  760,  and  Rome  was  founded  B.  C.  753  ;  so 
that  it  seems  very  incorrect,  to  speak  thus  of  an  intermediate  event  (the 
prophecy)  when  it  happened  433  years  after  the  first,  and  only  7  years  be- 
fore the  last  event.  And  if  we  were  to  allow,  with  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  "  that 
the  ancient  profane  history  is  generally  carried  about  300  years  higher  back- 
ward than  the  truth;"  yet  if  we  reduce  the  first  date  by  300  years,  so  as 
to  bring  it  to  893  B.  C,  and  reduce  the  date  of  the  building  of  Rome  by 
106  years,  according  to  Newton's  principles  (by  allowing  18  or  20  years — 
say  20 — for  the  reign  of  each  of  the  Kings),  to  B.  C.  647 — still  the  expres- 
sion "  venait  de  finir"  had  just  ended,  would  be  incorrect,  when  applied  to 
an  event,  133  years  before  the  days  of  Isaiah. 


HISTORY    OF    CHRISTIANISM.  43 

towards  which  that  Christian  Society  ought  to  tend,  beyond  the 
veil  which  separates  the  two  worlds.  Thus,  the  Gospel  sum- 
mons society  to  a  progress,  incomparably  beyond  all  that  human 
systems  demand,  and  assigns  a  task  which  can  only  be  accom- 
plished in  eternity. 

Will  you  speak  of  enlightenment  ?  Will  you  say  that  we  have 
reached  an  age  too  full  of  light  for  the  triumph  of  Christianism  .' 
The  History  of  Christianism  will  show  you,  that  she  fears  not  the 
hght,  though  frequently  a  false  one.  I  shall  not  speak  of  the  pre-, 
sent  epoch,  when  she  lifts  her  head  with  more  energy  than  ever. 
This  age  at  least  ought  to  be  out  of  the  question.  1  shall  not  speak 
of  the  Reformation,  jireceded  for  a  semi-century,  by  the  great 
events  which  signalized  the  revival  of  letters — we  shall  soon  attend 
to  it.  But  consider  what  the  History  of  Christianism  records  on 
its  first  leaf.  The  age  of  Augustus,  when  Jesus  was  born,  is  among 
the  most  brilliant  in  the  annals  of  mankind.  Christianism  chose 
the  noon-day  for  its  appearance.  A  religious  system,  which  had 
lasted  as  long  as  the  nation,  was  crumbling  under  the  assaults  of 
the  reason  of  the  age  :  and,  at  that  moment,  Christianism  presents 
itself  to  be,  in  like  manner,  examined  and  assailed.  The  raillery 
of  the  man  of  wit,  the  assaults  of  eloquence,  the  protracted  war- 
fare of  philosophy  and  learning,  it  challenges  all :  it  sustains  the 
shock  :  and  nothing  moves  it.  On  the  contrary,  it  advances,  it 
leads  the  thoughts  captive,  in  obedience  to  the  God  whom  it 
announces :  and  in  celestial  triumph  on  the  theatre  of  human 
glory,  it  often  numbers  around  its  car  those  who  had  been  the 
most  formidable  of  enemies.  Christianism  is  the  true  light :  it  is 
the  sun  which  rises  above  all  the  lights  of  this  lower  sphere.  "  I 
am  the  light  of  the  world,"  said  Jesus  Christ. 

Lastly,  will  the  Age  speak  of  the  future  ?  Will  attention  be 
vouchsafed  to  a  doctrine  only  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  future  ? 
The  fntine  belongs  to  Christianism.  She  claims  it  not  to-day,  or 
yesterday,  like  the  ephemeral  prophets  of  our  day.  She  said  so 
four  thousand  years  ago.  The  seventeenth  century  was  that  of 
the  past:  the  eighteenth  is  that  of  the  present:  the  nineteenth  is 
that  of  the  future,  and  this  belongs  to  Christianism.  Men,  if  en- 
lightened and  shicere,  can  no  longer  continue  strangers  to  the  an- 
cient promises  of  the  future,  laid  up  in  the  book  of  Nations.  Fol- 
lowing out  in  history  the  accom]ilishment  of  the  Oracles  of  God, 
they  will  arrive  at  those  which  declare,  that  "  the  Earth  shall  be 
full  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord" — "  his  rest  shall  be  glorious." 
Is.  xi.  8,  10.  Ever  since  the  men,  who  were  the  heralds  of  God, 
uttered  these  words,  all  has  been  advancing,  and  all  is  now  moving 
onward  to  their  glorious  fulfilment.  Christianism  is  on  her  march, 
and  she  will  never  retreat.  Her  work  is  scarcely  rough-hewn ; 
but  she  will  finish  it.  She  will  bring  about  a  great  revolution  on 
earth,  which  shall  change  its  very  being.  The  times  arc  not  per- 
haps very  distant,  when  its  destinies  will  be  accelerated.  A  new 
history  commences.  Christ  opens  to  the  world  the  gates  of  a  new 
futnre.  "  Great  voices"  shall  be  one  day  heard,  as  a  prophet  tells 
us,  saying,  "  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  become  the  kingdoms 
of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ."  Rev.  xi.  15. 


44  HISTORY    OF    CHRISTIANISM. 

These  are  my  reasons  for  maintaining  that  the  history  of  Chris- 
tianism  is  the  most  important  of  all  historical  studies  :  not  only  in 
general,  but  particularly  with  a  view  to  the  present  epoch.  CI.  vis- 
tianism  holds  in  her  hands  the  future  destinies  of  the  world.  She 
bears  in  herself  the  regenerative  force  that  will  renew  the  na- 
tions, the  bond  which  must  unite  them.  Here  is  that  beneficent 
power  which  will  spread  over  the  earth  and  establish  righteous- 
ness, liberty  and  peace.  0  ye  men  of  the  age  !  there  only  may 
.you  learn  the  direction  which  you  ought  to  give  to  all  your  effoits 
and  labors.  Study  in  the  past  the  history  of  that  which  must  ac- 
complish such  great  results  in  the  future.  Dedicate  to  this  study 
your  spirit  of  research  and  your  profound  meditations.  Set  the 
example  of  abandoning  the  beaten  track  of  the  world  :  and 
of  seeking  light,  life,  the  future,  where  only  they  are  found. 
Young  people  who  hear  me,  be  the  first  to  comprehend  the  call- 
ing of  the  new  generation  :  receive  first  for  yourselves,  the  light 
which  Christianism  has  kindled  :  then  go  forth  the  beacon  fires  of 
the  Nations. 

1  am  now  to  ask  your  attention  to  the  history  of  the  Reformation 
in  Germany,  or  at  least  of  the  most  important  period  of  that  his- 
tory. Perhaps  you  will  inquire  Avhat  has  led  me  to  select  that 
subject,  and  what  circumstances  have  induced  this  narrative.  I 
saw  Germany,  and  loved  her  for  the  sake  of  this  excellent  work, 
which  I  propose  as  my  theme.  The  Reformation,  at  the  festival 
of  its  third  centennial  jubilee,  Avelcomed  me  on  the  road,  and  in  the 
Germanic  cities,  on  my  arrival  in  18!  7.  I  recall  (and  not  without 
some  pain,  when  I  reflect  how  far  from  them  was  the  spirit  of  the 
Reformation)  those  bands  of  stndents,  who  flocked  to  the  famous 
antique  castle  of  Wurtzburg,  where  we  shall  one  day,  in  the  course 
of  my  review,  behold  Luther  a  captive.  I  love  to  believe  that 
those  youths  were  rather  indiscreet  than  guilty  !  I  well  remember 
how  the  gates  of  that  ancient  fortress  (to  which  those  young  Ger- 
mans were  ascending  in  solemn  procession)  opened  immediately 
before  me,  at  the  name  of  Geneva,  and  the  emotions  revive  which 
I  experienced,  when  I  found  myself  in  the  prison-chamber  of 
Luther.  I  remember  those  melodious  strains  which,  some  days 
after,  announced  the  festival  Avithin  the  walls  of  Leipsic,  descend- 
ing before  the  dawn  of  day,  from  the  summit  of  the  invisible 
towers  of  the  churches,  as  though  they  had  been  music  from 
heaven.  Again,  I  met  the  Reformation  in  illustrious  teachers  at 
Berlin.  I  shall  name  only  Neaiider,  the  father  of  the  new  History 
of  Christianism ;  Neander,  whose  tender  atfection  is  so  dear  to 
my  heart,  and  who  has  raised  up  in  Germany  that  Christian 
instruction,  to  "which  other  friends,  his  juniors,  the  Tholucks  and 
the  Hengstenbergs,  now  impart  life  with  all  the  strength  of  their 
faith.  Again  1  found  it  on  the  borders  of  the  Elbe,  in  the  midst  of 
the  kindred  and  friends  of  the  simple,  yet  profound  Claudius  of 
Wandsbeck — and  of  the  sublime  poet  of  "  The  Messiah."  Again, 
I  found  it  in  the  ancient  and  Catholic  Brabant  itself,  near  the  throne 
on  which  sat  the  descendant  of  the  Nassaus,  the  heir  oithe  Silent, 
that  noble  hero  of  the  Reformation  of  the  Low  Countries.    There 


HISTORY    OF    CHRISTIANISM.  45 

the  earth  soon  trembled  beneath  my  feet.  The  throne  which  it 
bore,  crumbled  at  the  sound  of  the  fall  of  another  throne.  A  queen 
of  cities  became,  during  four  days,  the  bloody  field  of  horrible 
combats.  There  1  was  a  Avitness,  and  nearly  a  victim  of  unspeak- 
able calamities.  I  returned  to  our  mountains,  after  an  absence  of 
fourteen  years,  desiring,  if  God  should  give  me  adequate  strength, 
to  speak  amidst  my  countrymen,  of  those  admirable  things  whose 
glory  and  influence  met  me  everywhere.  Perhaps  those  noble, 
correct,  and  liberal  manners,  whose  charm  I  experienced  in  a 
foreign  land,  have  not  been  found  by  me  in  all  at  home.  Subject, 
however,  myself  to  human  frailties,  I  shall  know  how  to  excuse, 
and  not  to  condemn  thena  in  others.  I  promise,  then,  a  cordial 
welcome  to  all  who  are  disjiosed  to  hear  my  simple  narrative. 
We  shall  survey  together  the  plains  of  Mansfeld,  the  cells  of  Erfurt, 
the  halls  of  Wittenberg,  the  palaces  of  Augsburg,  of  Leipsic,  and 
of  Worms.  You  will  behold  the  Reformation.  You  will  examine 
all  things.  You  will  not  suffer  the  yoke  of  man  to  rest  on  your 
necks.  I  have  seen  Wittenberg  ;  I  have  seen  the  land  where  the 
despotism  of  Rome  perished :  let  us  not  bow  down  before  the 
despotism  of  the  Age.  A  freeman  myself,  I  seek  after  freemen ; 
and  I  believe  I  have  found  them.  May  the  divine  blessing  rest  on 
my  narrative  !  May  words  be  vouchsafed  to  me,  suitable  to  spread 
true  light  and  true  liberty  !  and,  whilst  I  am  relating  to  you  the 
history  of  a  great  event  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  may  the  image  of 
Christ,  King  of  the  Church,  grow  unceasingly  before  your  eyes, 
and  in  your  hearts  ! 


THE   CHURCH 


CALLED 


TO   COIFESS  JESUS  CHRIST 


TRANSLATED  BY  M.  M.  BACKUS. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  HER  VOCATION. 


PREFACE. 


Many  Christians  at  Geneva,  as  well  as  in  the  canton  of  Vaud 
and  in  France,  and  doubtless  in  other  countries  of  Protestant 
Christendom,  have  felt,  while  they  reviewed  the  actual  state  of  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ,  that  there  was  need  of  a  further  inani- 
festation  of  that  great  and  glorious  iniity,  which  exists  among 
those  Avho  have  been  redeemed  unto  God  by  the  blood  of  Jesus 
out  of  every  kindred  and  tongue  and  people  and  nation. 

They  believe,  that  in  the  face  of  the  combined  efforts  of  Rome 
and  of  all  anti-christian  opinions,  evangelical  Christians  ought  to 
gather  round  their  Captain  and  unite  in  the  confession  of  their 
common  faith.  A  proposition  to  this  effect  was  made  in  a  nume- 
rous assembly  which  met  at  Geneva,  the  evening  of  the  anniver- 
sary (1840)  of  the  Evangelical  Society.  Some  friends  of  the  Gospel 
took  up  the  same  subject  more  recently  at  the  time  of  the  annual 
gathering  at  Lausanne.  We  have  frequently  observed  that  it  is 
only  after  the  lapse  of  years,  and  even  after  namierous  repulses, 
that  the  most  useful  ideas  are  perfected,  modified,  received,  and 
at  length  fashioned  into  realities.  This  of  which  we  are  speaking 
may  likewise  encounter  its  obstacles ;  the  proposition  which  has 
been  made  may  not  have  a  single  immediate  consequence  ;  but 
whoever  believes  in  the  word  of  the  Lord  cannot,  it  seems  to  us, 
entertain  any  doubt  of  the  accomplishment  of  this  Christian  thought 
at  a  period  in  the  future  more  or  less  remote.  "  Wherefore  God 
also  hath  highly  exalted  him,  and  given  him  a  name  which  is 
above  every  name  :  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee  should 
bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  and  things  in  earth,  and  things  under 
the  earth,  and  that  ever^  tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ 
is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father."  iVc'snn. 

Some  persons,  for  whose  judgment  the  author  entert'^jic  pow^ 
respect,  have  thought  that  under  these  circumstances  me -tajinica- 


50  PREFACE. 

tion  of  the  following  discourse,  pronounce  in  the  chapel  of  the 
Theological  School  of  Geneva,  and  bearing  only  indirectly  on  the 
thought  to  which  we  have  referred,  might  perhaps  prove  of  some 
service. 

It  is  a  common  apology  that  a  discourse  is  published  at  the  re- 
quest of  its  auditors.  The  author  finds  himself  obliged  to  repeat  this 
on  the  present  occasion,  in  order  to  throw  upon  his  friends  a  part 
of  the  responsibility  of  a  production,  the  many  deficiencies  of 
which,  as  well  as  its  numerous  imperfections,  could  not  otherwise 
be  justified.  Nevertheless,  he  believes  with  his  friends,  that  the 
subject  of  this  discourse  is  of  some  importance,  and  merits  the 
attention  of  Christians  at  the  present  moment.  For  this  reason, 
although  these  leaves  were  not  destmed  for  the  public  eye,  he 
commits  them  to  his  brethren,  commending  them  to  the  blessing 
Qf  God. 


A  DISCOURSE 

DELIVERED  AT  GENEVA,  SEPTEMBER  27,  1840. 


"  Whosoever  therefore  shall  confess  me  before  men,  him  will  I  confess  also  before  my 
Father  which  is  in  heaven.  Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  send  peace  on  earth  :  I  am 
not  come  to  send  peace,  but  a  sword.  For  I  am  come  to  set  a  man  at  variance  against 
his  father,  and  the  daughter  against  her  mother,  and  the  daughter-in-law  against  her 
motherin-law.  And  a  man's  foes  shall  bo  those  of  his  own  household.  He  that 
loveth  father  or  mother  more  than  me,  is  not  worthy  of  me  :  and  he  that  loveth  son  or 
(laughter  more  than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me.  And  he  that  taketh  not  his}  cross  and 
fdlloweth  after  me  is  not  worthy  of  me.  He  that  findeth  his  life  shall  lose  it:  and  he 
that  loseth  his  life  for  my  sake,  shall  find  it."     Matt.  x.  32-30. 

The  words  you  have  heard,  were  pronounced  by  the  Lord  hi 
view  of  a  day  of  trial.  For  throe  centuries  to  come,  the  Church 
M'as  to  be  that  woman,  whom  St.  John  in  the  Apocalypse  saw, 
clothed  with  the  Sun,  even  Jesus  Christ  our  Righteousness,  hav- 
ing on  her  head  a  crown  of  twelve  stars,  the  crown  of  the  Apos- 
tles, "  travailing  in  birth,  and  pained  to  be  delivered."  It  was 
necessary  then,  for  Christ  to  strengthen  her  in  the  confession  of 
her  faith,  that  she  might  remain  firm  in  the  midst  of  her  long  and 
severe  throes.    - 

My  brethren,  we  live  in  a  period  which  Ijears  some  analogy, 
perhaps,  to  that  in  which  these  words  were  spoken.  Many  signs 
seem  to  indicate  that  the  time  draws  nigh,  in  which  the  Church, 
long  straitened  in  a  narrow  place,  is  about  to  be  diffused 
throughout  the  nations  of  the  earth;  in  which  converted  Israel 
shall  be  re-established  in  his  dwelling-place,  and  the  false  Pro- 
phet of  the  East  and  the  High  Priest  of  the  West  shall  see  their 
power  crushed.  Statesmen,  who  know  little  of  the  prophecies, 
and  the  most  incredulous  of  the  public  journals,  already  speak  of 
some  of  these  events.  The  Jews  turn  their  eyes  towards  the  Holy 
Land,  the  Turk  in  Constantinople  feels  the  earth  tremble  beneath 
his  feet;  and,  as  a  missionary  once  remarked  to  us,  who  had  re- 
cently returned  from  Jerusalem,  where  he  had  been  familiar  with 
the  first  Mohammedan  families,  the  rumor  is  spread  throughout  the 
East  that  Mohammedanism  is  soon  to  fall ;  that  Jesus  Christ  will 
soon  descend  upon  the  summit  of  the  great  INIosque  of  Damascus, 
and  incorporate  Judaism,  Christianity  and  Islamism  in  one  single 
and  primitive  religion.     Such  arc  the  presentiments  of  the  people 

But  before  these  things  take  place,  there  must  be  many  a  strug- 
gle. Do  we  not  in  fact  see  the  enemies  of  Christ  strengthening 
themselves  in  bold  systems  of  unbelief  and  pantheism,  presump- 
tuously placing  themselves  before  the  cross  of  Jesus  ;  the  power 
of  Rome  stirring  over  the  whole  earth,  its  convents  rising  again  in 


52  THE    CHURCH 

France,  and  the  most  devoted  soldiery  of  the  Papacy,  a  celebrated 
society  establishing  itself  in  all  parts,  and  even  in  the  bosom  of 
our  own  confederacy  ?  Do  we  not  hear  wars  and  rumors  of  wars  ? 
Is  not  the  East  already  lit  up  and  gleaming  with  the  flashing 
lightnings,  those  precursors  of  the  thnnder  ?  And  are  not  the 
powers  of  the  East  and  the  West,  at  this  hour,  gathering  together 
around  the  land  of  revelation — that  Judah,  which  is  already  be- 
coming the  centre  of  the  world,  of  whom  it  is  said,  Judah  shall  be 
saved  and  Jerusalem  shall  dwell  in  safety  ? 

We  do  not  pretend,  my  brethren,  to  know  the  times  or  the 
seasons  ;  but  if,  on  the  one  hand,  we  ought  to  have  much  discre- 
tion and  caution  in  these  matters,  would  it  not,  on  the  other  hand, 
be  willfully  closing  our  eyes  to  the  light,  to  maintain  that  both  in  a 
political  and  religious  point  of  vie^v,  the  world  has  not  now 
reached  a  crisis,  but  that  she  is  rolling  on  through  a  period  of  very 
ordinary  tranquillity  ?  I  think  then,  that  it  is  meet  for  us  to  medi- 
tate upon  the  words  our  Lord  gave  to  his  disciples,  to  strengthen 
them  through  three  centuries  of  persecutions,  and  Avhich  are  de- 
signed to  confirm  his  people  throughout  all  time. 

Tn  times,  such  as  those  of  which  we  speak,  the  great  duty  to 
which  Christ  calls  his  followers,  is  that  of  a  fearless  profession 
of  his  name.  It  is,  first,  the  duty  of  each  Christian  ;  secondly,  the 
duty  of  the  Church.  Let  ns  consider  these  two  duties,  and  may 
the  Lord  assist  us  to  discharge  both  ! 

I.  Persons  are  frequently  foimd  (perhaps  there  are  such  in  this 
assembly)  who  would  gladly  become  Christians,  converted  Chris- 
tians, without  revealing  the  change  to  the  church,  and  provided 
it  might  remain  a  secret  between  themselves  and  their  Lord. 
These  weak  Christians  have  an  excessive  fear  of  everything  which 
would  cause  them  to  be  recognized  in  their  true  characters. 

You  will  hear  them  advance,  in  their  justification,  that  the  king- 
dom of  Heaven  is  within  us;  that  Christianity  is  too  holy  a  thing  to 
be  presented  to  the  world.  But  (perhaps  without  their  perceiving 
the  fact)  it  is  this  very  fear  of  the  u^orld  which  rules  and  restrains 
them.  A  celebrated  and  corrupt  clmrch  has  admitted  this  pitiful 
hypocrisy.  There  are  secret  Romanists  in  Protestant  countries ; 
there  are  still  more  in  heathen  lands.  The  numerous  and  pre- 
tended converts  in  China,  of  whom  Rome  so  loudly  boasts,  conceal 
their  faith  in  that  empire  and  give  themselves  out  as  idolaters  ; 
and  there  we  find  that  Christianity  without  a  confession  of  faith 
which  many  would  see  established  in  the  bosom  of  Christen- 
dom. 

The  Evangelical  Christian  church  rests  upon  principles  alto- 
gether opposite,  although  there  are  even  in  our  days  those  who 
wonld  bend  its  nature  in  this  respect.  She  declares  Avith  the 
Apostles  that  it  is  not  sufficient  to  believe  with  the  heart  unto  right- 
eousness, but  that  with  the  mouth  confession  also  must  be  made 
imto  salvation,  and  instead  of  the  accommodations  and  tergiver- 
sations of  Rome,  instead  of  the  silence,  the  indifference,  the  fear 
and  the  respect  to  human  opinions  of  some  Protestants,  who  for- 


AND    HER    VOCATION  53 

get  the  Rock  from  wliicli  they  have  been  hewed,  the  Evangehcal 
church  proclaims  and  fulfills  the  sure  and  sovereign  word  of 
Christ.  "  Whosoever  therefore  shall  confess  me  before  men,  him 
will  I  confess  also  before  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven ;  but  who- 
soever shall  deny  me  before  men,  him  will  I  also  deny  before  my 
Father  which  is  in  heaven." 

Yes,  weak  and  timid  Christians,  it  is  not  sufficient  for  us  to 
imaghie  that  we  can  belong  to  Christ  in  the  dejiths  of  our  hearts. 
If  we  have  truly  embraced  Jesus  Christ  we  shall  make  it  known 
to  all.  What  !  saved  by  him  from  eternal  death,  shall  we  not 
praise  him  with  our  whole  soul  ?  Oh  !  that  all  might  read  in  our 
life  an  epistle  traced  by  the  hand  of  Jesus,  proclaiming  his  ineffa- 
ble love. 

Very  true,  you  reply;  but  are  we  to  be  counted  unfaithful,  be- 
cause Ave  have  had  to  endure  nothing  for  Christ  ?  It  is  mere  ex- 
aggeration to  maintain  that  one  cannot  be  a  sincere  Christian 
without  enduring  persecution.  Does  not  Christianity  everywhere 
tend  to  produce  harmony,  benevolence  and  peace  .'  How  then 
can  we  be  pursued  with  contempt  and  hatred  since  Christianity 
has  raised  us  all  above  them .'  This  might  have  occurred  in  the 
early  ages,  in  the  midst  of  Pagans,  but  at  this  time,  in  the  bosom 
of  Protestant  Christendom,  in  our  church,  no  one  need  be  tempted 
through  fear  of  persecution  to  deny  Jesus  Christ. 

Think  not,  replies  Jesus  himself  unto  you,  think  not  that  I  am 
come  to  send  peace  on  earth  ;  1  am  come  to  set  a  man  at  variance 
against  his  father  and  the  daughter  against  her  mother.  Yes,  if 
your  conversion  is  genuine,  if  you  truly  confess  Jesus  Christ,  think 
not  to  escape  this  universal  rule. 

Jesus  Christ,  doubtless,  came  not  to  bring  the  sword,  but  such 
however  is  the  invariable  effect  of  "his  !  coming  whenever  heap- 
pears.  And  how  can  it  be  otherwise  .'  But  what  happens  in  the 
world  ?  The  Gospel  has  proved  effectual  upon  a  certain  jjerson  of 
your  acquaintance,  (perhaps  upon  yourself!)  It  has  effected  a 
fundamental  change,  which  is  seen  in  the  whole  life  of  this  new 
Christian.  This  change  attracts  the  attention  of  his  friends,  it  is 
inevitable  ;  and  in  view  of  this  work  of  God  they  are  reduced  to 
this  alternative,  either  to  submit  to  the  same  transformation  or  to 
condemn  it  in  him.  Not  willing  to  undergo  the  former,  they  have 
recourse  to  the  latter  ;  they  condemn  the  conversion  of  their  friend 
as  an  irrational,  enthusiastic,  fanatical,  methodistical  thing.  And 
if  this  new  Christian  (be  he  yourself  or  another)  keep  himself 
near  them,  then  their  irritation  is  con.stantly  displayed  in  a  growing 
measure  ;  for  the  shame  and  hatred  of  the  world  which  the  faith- 
ful disciple  draws  upon  himself,  is  partly  reflected  upon  them- 
selves ;  the  condemnation  they  should  pronounce  upon  their  own 
heart,  becomes  the  more  vivid  the  nearer  that  Christian  approaches  ; 
aud  there  is  a  natural  impulse  to  rally  such  men,  and  recall  their 
reason,  imagining  that  they  arc  .surely  gone  mad. 

Undeceive  yourselves  then,  my  brethren  :  the  confession  of  Jesus 
Christ  may  be  a  difficult  task  even  in  the  absence  of  extraordinary 
circumstances.     If  you  are  tipright  and  sincere  in  your  profession, 


54  THE    CHURCH 

you  cannot  escape  opposition ;  it  is  the  ordinary  course  of  the 
world.     A  man's  foes  shall  be  they  of  his  own  household. 

Permit  me,  then,  in  this  place  to  put  to  you  a  question  suggested 
by  your  words.  What  will  Christ  answer  to  your  excuse .'  Is  not 
the  reception  which  you  have  until  this  hour  received  from  the 
world,  a  sure  indication  that  Christ  will  one  day  reject  you  ?  No  ! 
you  reply.  Some  prudence  is  certainly  requisite  in  order  to  avoid 
opprobrium ;  we  have  made  some  slight  sacrifices,  and  availed  our- 
selves of  some  trifling  accommodation.?.  But  what !  Tf  we  have 
merely  been  guiltless  of  great  offences  against  Christian  morality, 
if  our  only  fault  has  been  the  non-confession  of  Christ  before  our 
friends,  in  our  families,  as  frequently  and  as  courageously  as  we 
ought  perhaps  to  have  done,  does  it  follow  that  we  are  not  in 
Christ,  that  for  so  light  an  offence  he  will  deny  us  eternally  ?  Im- 
pos.sible. 

Here  again  I  wUl  reply  to  you,  not  in  my  own  words,  but  in  those 
of  the  divine  oracle.  "  He  that  loveth  father  or  mother  more  than 
me  is  not  worthy  of  me,  says  the  Lord.  He  that  loveth  son  or 
daughter  more  than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me."  If  through  fear  of 
a  father  or  a  mother,  of  an  elder  brother  or  a  sister,  if  tlorough  love 
for  your  children,  through  a  desire  of  not  compromising  the  future 
prospects  of  a  son,  the  establishment  of  a  daughter,  you  have 
yielded  on  any  occasion,  and  purposely  hid  your  sentiments  from 
your  associates,  are  you,  in  the  literal  sense  of  the  Master's  decla- 
ration, worthy  of  Cluist .'  With  your  conscience  I  leave  the  answer. 
Further ;  suppose  you  confess  Jesus  in  the  family  circle,  that  you 
support  even  the  reproaches  of  your  mother  or  of  your  son,  and 
that  you  walk  faithfully  in  this  way  until  the  last  extremity,  but 
that  in  case  of  violent  reproach,  the  deep  contempt  of  the  world, 
yea,  I  go  even  further,  m  case  persecution  and  the  stake  should 
be  presented  to  you,  you  should  be  astonished,  should  falter,  should 
keep  silence  and  turn  your  back  on  Jesus  as  did  Peter, — then  not- 
withstanding all  that  you  might  have  done,  Christ  would  have  a 
strong  reproach  to  utter  against  you.  Why  hast  thou  turned  back, 
he  might  say  to  you  ;  have  I  drawn  back  from  thee  .'  This  cross 
which  you  have  rejected  have  I  not  borne  for  you  ?  For  you  did 
I  not  permit  myself  to  be  led  to  Calvary  ?  Were  not  my  hands  and 
feet  pierced  for  you  ?  But  you  have  loved  your  ease,  your  inte- 
rests, your  life,  more  than  my  kingdom  and  my  glory.  I  know  you 
not.  He  that  taketh  not  up  his  cross  and  foUoweth  after  me  is  not 
worthy  of  me. 

Why  should  we  be  astonished  at  this  severity  of  the  Lord,  when 
we  see  that  we  act  in  regard  to  him,  so  totally  different  from  the 
manner  in  which  we  act  towards  the  world.  Who  among  us 
would  not  submit  to  a  painful  operation,  if  certain  that  it  would 
bring  him.  some  permanent  benefit .'  And  shall  we  not  esteem 
eternal  life  worthy  of  a  few  brief  trials  .' 

Oh  I  there  is  not  before  you  the  cross,  the  sword,  the  scaffold  ; 
death  I  know  is  not  before  your  eyes.  But  no  matter,  it  is  at 
this  price  we  ought  to  accept  Jesus  Christ.  No  one  is  truly  in 
Christ  unless  he  is  prepared,  in  order  to  confess  him,  even  to  give 


AND    HER    VOCATION.  55 

up  his  life.  It  is  thus  we  must  act  to  save  our  own  souls.  It  is 
a  deplorable  thing,  this  same  faith — if  I  may  so  term  it — which  is 
found  in  the  Church,  and  which  will  certainly  fail  in  the  day  of 
martyrdom.  All  are  not  called  to  confess  Christ  upon  the  scaf- 
fold, but  every  one  ought  to  have  the  spirit  to  endure  it.  And  ' 
this  word  that  we  preach  to  you  is  as  true  for  tranquil  times  as 
for  a  time  of  trouble  and  blood.  He  that  findeth  his  life  shall  lose 
it :  and  he  that  loseth  his  life  for  my  sake,  shall  find  it. 

IT.  But  we  will  take  still  higher  ground :  we  will  survey  the  whole 
Church,  and  say  to  her.  That  which  is  true  for  each  individual  is 
true  for  the  Church.  And,  when  I  speak  of  the  Church,  the  question 
is  still  of  your  duty ;  your  duty,  however,  not  as  an  isolated  per- 
son, but  as  a  member  of  an  universal  society,  the  Church. 

The  Church  is  called  by  her  Master  to  confess  him  before  the 
world.  Why  then  is  not  the  duty  of  each  one  of  us  the  duty  of  us 
all  ?  Is  it  because  the  obligation  of  a  soldier  to  be  faithful  to  his 
colors  is  not  that  of  the  whole  army  .'  And  as  God  has  ordered  the 
movement  of  each  star,  does  it  not  follow  that  the  whole  heavens 
should  move  harmoniously  in  its  course  ? 

Every  false  Church  is  hostile  to  this  individual  confession  of 
Jesus  Christ.  "  Whoever  confesses  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,"  says 
St.  John,  "  shall  be  put  out  of  the  synagogue,"  but  every  true 
Church  confesses  her  Lord.  The  minister  is  called  to  confess  him, 
not  only  as  an  individual,  but  as  a  minister  and  representative  of 
the  Church  to  imitate  Timothy  and  like  him  to  "  make  a  good  con- 
fession before  many  witnesses."  The  Church  ought  in  all  things 
to  follow  her  leader.  Christ  has  left  us  an  example,  says  the 
Scripture,  that  we  might  follow  in  his  steps.  Jesus  Christ  says 
St.  Paul  before  Pontius  Pilate  witnessed  a  good  confession.  And 
what  is  the  eulogy  Jesus  passed,  not  on  an  individual,  but  on  a 
Church,  even  that  of  a  Pergamos,  when  from  her  midst  the  cruel 
Domitian  took  the  faithful  Antipas  and  caused  him  to  be  shut  up 
in  a  brazen  ox  heated  by  fire,  according  to  the  acts  of  that  mar- 
tyr ?*  The  glory  of  this  Church,  Jesus  declares,  was  her  confession 
of  the  name  of  Christ  and  her  faith  in  the  Lord.  "  I  know  thy 
works ;  and  where  thou  dwellest,  even  where  Satan's  seat  is  :  saith 
he  which  hath  the  sharp  sword  with  two  edges ;  aaid  thou  boldest 
fast  my  name  and  hast  not  denied  my  faith,  even  in  those  days 
wherein  Antipas  Avas  my  faithful  martyr,  wlio  was  slain  among 
you  where  Satan  dwelleth." 

Such  then,  my  brethren,  is  the  duty  of  the  Church  ;  the  Bible 
establishes  it ;  and  a  Church  that  confesses  not  the  great  mystery 
of  piety,  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  is  as  unfaithful  and  guilty  in  her 
associated  capacity,  as  is  that  Christian  who  fails  to  do  it  as  an 
individual :  these  are  the  simple  conclusions  of  sound  judgment. 

This  is  likewise  what  the  Church  universal  has  recognized.  Yes, 
my  brethren,  it  is  not  we  who  would  arbitrarily  impose  thi.s  duty 
on  the  Church  ;  on  the  contrary,  the  Church  in  her  best  days  has 
not  ceased  to  proclaim  and  fulfill  it. 

*  Bollandi  Acta. 


56  THE    CHURCH 

She  felt  the  necessity  and  duty  of  this  confession,  when,  in  the 
beginning  of  the  foiirth  century,  a  deplorable  heresy,  the  denial  of 
the  eternal  divinity  of  the  Son  of  God,  began  to  spread  through- 
.  ont  the  world,  and  the  church  universal,  assembled  from  the  East 
and  the  West  at  Nice,  A.  D.  325,  in  the  persons  of  its  bishops,  re- 
jecting the  errors  of  Arius,  declared  in  the  presence  of  the  fi[st 
Christian  Emperor  and  of  all  the  habitable  world  :  "  We  believe 
in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  begotten  before  all  ages  and  not  created, 
very  God,  of  the  same  essence  with  the  Father,  by  whom  all 
things  were  made,  and  who  became  man  for  our  salvation.* 

The  Church  in  Germany  more  than  three  centuries  ago  felt  this 
same  necessity  and  duty,  when  at  Augsburg,  in  1530,  at  the  period 
of  the  revival  of  Christianity,  in  view  of  terrible  Avars  and  frightful 
persecutions  which  seemed  ready  to  burst  upon  her,  when  com- 
manded by  Charles  V.  to  suspend  the  preaching  of  the  word,  she  re- 
plied through  her  organ,  the  Margrave  of  Brandenburg  :  "  Rather  let 
my  head  be  severed  from  my  body,  than  not  confess  my  God  and 
His  Gospel !  "  and  when  the  evangelical  princes,  being  solemnly  as- 
sembled in  the  imperial  chapel,  in  the  presence  of  that  mighty 
emperor,  who  reigned  over  two  Avorlds,  of  a  multitude  of  soa'c- 
reign  princes,  of  bishops,  Qf  ambassadors,  and  of  the  mighty  of 
the  earth,  in  the  midst  of  the  glory  of  the  age,  the  elector  of  Sax- 
ony and  his  brethren  in  the  faith  arose,  the  chancellors  advanced, 
and  the  renovated  church  proclaimed  for  two  hours,  in  a  loud  and 
intelligible  voice,  in  the  most  profound  silence  and  ^Avith  the  most 
poAverful  effect,  her  faith  of  great  price,  justification  for  the  love 
of  Christ,  through  grace,  through  means  of  faith. f 

The  Church  of  France  felt  this  necessity  and  duty,  on  the  26th 
of  May,  1559,  Avhen,  not  with  a  great  splendor  and  royal  pomp  as 
at  Augsburg,  but  in  silence,  in  gloom,  in  disgrace,  even  under  the 
SAvord  of  her  adversaries,  under  the  bloody  sceptre  of  Henry  II., 
and  Catharine  de  Medicis,  the  deputies  of  all  the  churches  then 
established  in  France  assembled  at  Paris,  "  at  Paris,"  says  Theo- 
dore Beza,J  because  it  Avas  the  most  suitable  city  for  the  secret 
reception  of  so  many  ministers  and  elders  ;"  Avhen  having  pene- 
trated into  the  capital  through  the  arquebusiers  of  Henry  II.,  these 
ministers  and  members  of  the  church  came  four  days  in  succession 
to  a  house  in  the  faubourg  St.  Germain,  by  stealth  one  after  the 
other  from  different  quarters,  and  remained  there  for  the  confes- 
sion of  their  faith,  "  in  the  midst  of  stakes  and  gibbets,"  says  ano- 
ther historian,"  Avhich  Avere  raised  in  all  quarters  of  the  city;"§ 
when  surrounded  by  the  spies  of  the  clergy,  the  emissaries  of 
parliament,  the  lances  of  the  kmg,  obliged  almost  to  hold  their 
breath  for  fear  of  being  betrayed,  the  Church  of  our  fathers  in 
France,  protected  by  its  humility,  put  forth  that  beautiful  confes- 
sion of  faith  which  its- ministers  and  elders  carried  into  all  their 
provinces  and  published  in  the  light  of  the  sun,  in  preseuce  of  the 

*  Qtov  d\r]Ottidv  biioovctoi/  nS"  Trarpt.      Symb.  Mc. 

t  Fourth  article  of  the  Augsburg  Confession. 

j  Hist.  Eccles.,  page  109. 

§  Hist,  de  I'edit  de  Nantes,  Vol.  i.,  p.  18. 


AND    HER    VOCATION.  57 

satellites  of  Rome,  and  upon  the  ashes  of  the  martyrs,  saying,  with 
a  voice  whose  accents  sound  even  to  ns :  We  l)elieve  that  from 
this  corruption  and  general  condemnation  in  which  all  men  are 
plunged,  God  receives  those  whom  in  his  eternal  and  immutable 
counsel,  he  has  elected  by  his  own  goodness,  in  our  Lord  Jesus, 
without  consideration  of  their  works.  We  profess  that  Jesus 
Christ,  God  and  man  in  one  person,  is  our  entire  and  perfect  pu- 
rification, and  that  we  have  in  his  death  full  satisfaction  to  release 
us  from  our  trespasses.* 

Yes,  my  brethren,  it  is  thus  that  in  all  times  the  Church  has 
found  courage  to  confess  her  faith,  in  obedience  to  her  Master,  and 
to  make  a  good  confession  before  many  Avitnesses. 

Shall  not  then  the  Church  in  our  day  do  the  same  .'  Shall  she 
remain  silent.'  Has  not  Christ  been  crucified  for  her.'  or  has  she 
not  faith  enough  to  know  she  ought  to  proclaim  it .'  More  than  a 
century  has  elapsed  since  the  confession  of  faith  in  Christ — the 
God-Saviour  has  been  destroyed  in  this  Church  of  Geneva  ;  a  few 
months  ago  she  again  took  up  her  abode  in  the  Church  of  the 
Canton  of  Vaud.  In  almost  all  places  the  confessions  of  our  fathers 
are  overthrown  or  neglected.  The  Church  is  now  in  the  midst  of 
interminable  rubbish.  Ruins,  ruins,  everywhere  ruins.  Oh  !  while 
the  enemies  are  so  active  to  destroy,  why  should  the  friends  of 
Jesus  be  so  slack  ro  build  up  ?  If  they  have  gagged  the  mouths  of 
our  fathers,  so  that  they  should  no  longer  speak  of  their  ancient 
faith  ;  if  they  have  put  them,  so  to  speak,  a  second  time  to  death, 
shall  our  mouths — our  lips  remain  immovable  and  silent .'  What ! 
because  those  arms,  which  presented  to  the  world  the  confession 
of  the  ''  Word  made  flesh,"  have  three  centuries  been  stiff  in  death 
and  sleeping  in  the  sepulchre ;  because  those  eyes,  which  gazed 
with  gentleness  and  boldness  on  kings  and  executioners,  have  for 
three  ages  been  clo.sed  and  wasted  away ;  because  those  feet  which 
ran  when  necessary  to  the  stake  rather  than  not  confess  Christ, 
are  unjointed,  broken  and  scattered  ;  because  those  lips  that  cried 
in  the  midst  of  the  mob  and  the  flames,  "  Emmanuel !  God  with 
us  !"  are  closed,  fleshless,  and  for  three  hundred  years  have  been 
mingled  with  the  dust,  shall  we,  in  our  days,  shall  we  do  nothing, 
confess  nothing,  say  nothing  !  Oh,  dry  bones  that  we  are  !  Let 
us  renounce  the  name  we  have  to  live,  since  we  are  dead.  Let  us 
sleep  in  the  grave  since  we  speak  no  more  than  do  its  silent  tenants. 
This  Church  which  reposes  in  the  bosom  of  the  earth  awaiting  the 
cry  of  the  archangel  and  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  Man,  would  start 
from  her  very  dust  if  she  could  know  the  lukewarmness  of  the 
Church  of  our  day.  These  courageous  dead  would  rise  from  their 
sepiUchres  and  address  us.  "  We  had  arms  to  act  and  lips  to  speak 
with.  Do  you  possess  them  to  keep  silence.'  Have  you  not 
heard  then  those  august  and  fearful  words,  which  make  us  trem- 
ble even  in  our  graves :  '  He  who  will  not  confess  me  before  men, 
I  will  not  confess  before  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.'  " 

My  brethren,  a  confession  of  faith  is  necessary  to  manifest  the 

*  Confession  de  foi  des  Eglises  ref  de  France.    Art.  12, 17,  etc. 
3* 


58  THE    CHURCH 

unity  of  the  Church.  Unity  is  a  commandment  which  our  Master 
has  left  us.  We  cannot  throw  it  off  from  us.  It  is  not,  however, 
by  an  earthly  leader,  by  a  worldly  hierarchy,  by  an  uniformity_of 
worship,  of  liturgy,  by  crosses,  mitres,  censers,  it  is  not  by  all 
these  tilings  that  the  unity  of  the  Church  is  manifested  ;  she  leaves 
to  the  world  these  miserable  elements.  The  true  Church  of  Christ 
has  no  other  bond  than  the  unity  of  her  faith  and  her  confession, 
in  love  and  holiness  of  life.  With  her,  all  externals,  which  men 
regard  of  so  high  importance,  are  altogether  secondary.  All  is  free 
for  her,  saving  her  Jesus.  When  Rome  points  to  her  false  and  dead 
unity,  the  Church  of  Christ  is  to  present  a  true  and  living  unity ; 
a  UNITY  and  not  an  uniformity.  Yes  !  to  this  dead  uniformity  of 
Rome,  similar  to  the  uniformity  discernible  in  the  parade  of  the 
armies  of  the  kings  of  this  world,  let  us  reply  by  a  vast  and  unani- 
mous confession  of  the  Lord  our  Righteousness,  like  that  which 
angels  make,  prostrate  before  the  eternal  throne.  The  former  is 
the  unity  of  the  children  of  this  world,  but  the  latter  is  the  unity 
of  the  children  of  Heaven.  What  an  admirable  unity  was  that  of 
the  Church  at  her  great  awakening  in  the  sixteenth  century  !  It 
is  not  a  servile  miiformity;  there  is  liberty  in  all  things  where 
freedom  is  proper,  but  there  is  likewise  a  sublime  and  imposing 
agreement  in  the  confession  of  the  truth,  come  from  on  high.  Take 
the  confessions  of  Germany,  of  Switzerland,  of  Belgium,  of  France, 
of  England,  of  Scotland,  everywhere  the  same  faith,  the  same 
God,  the  same  Christ,  the  same  salvation.  In  the  Church  of  Rome 
"  the  principal  thing"  is  the  men,  the  priests,  the  bishops,  the 
pontiffs;  and  the  unity  consists  in  being  united  to  them.  In  the 
evangelical  Christian  Church  the  principal  thing  is  faith,  the  doc- 
trine of  Heaven,  the  truth  of  God,  that  is  to  say,  God  himself,  and 
in  her  view  unity  consists  ui  the  unanimous  confession  of  this 
truth.  Every  Church,  which  ceases  to  find  her  unity  in  the  con- 
fession of  the  same  doctrine,  and  makes  it  to  consist  in  union  vsrith 
the  leaders  or  the  assemblies  which  direct  it,  may  still  bear  the 
name  of  Protestant,  but  has  clothed  itself  by  these  means  with  the 
essential  and  distinctive  nature  of  the  papacy.  It  is  not  walls 
which  are  soon  to  fall,  it  is  not  certain  leaders,  ephemeral  beings 
who  will  to-morrow  be  in  the  depths  of  the  grave,  that  are  essen- 
tial to  the  Church.  The  adorer  of  the  virgin  and  of  the  saints  in 
Spain  or  in  Italy  submits  to  the  Pontiff,  who  by  chance  is  found 
at  the  head  of  the  most  ancient  Church  of  the  west ;  and  the  Turk 
at  Constantinople  prostrates  himself  in  the  ancient  porches  of  Jus- 
tinian and  Theodosius.  Stones  are  nothhig,  men  are  nothing, 
Christ  is  all.  To  suppress  the  unity  of  the  faith  and  the  confes- 
sion of  Christ,  is  to  suppress  the  Church.  Doubtless  there  may 
be  Christians  scattered  here  and  there,  there  maybe  walls,  priests, 
ruins ;  but  there  is  no  Church ;  for  there  can  be  no  assembly  of 
God  there,  where  there  are  only  foreign,  perhaps  conflicting  ele- 
ments, without  any  divine  and  eternal  bond  to  hold  them  together. 
My  brethren,  a  confession  of  the  faith  of  the  Chiurch  is  needful, 
for  by  this  confession  the  Church  is  led  on  to  victory.  What  are 
its  "  weapons— mighty  to  the  pulling  down  of  strongholds,"  as  St. 


AND    HER    VOCATION.  59 

Paul  says — what  are  tlicse  weapons  ?  They  are  the  confession  of 
Jesus  Clirist.  Behold  the  only  strength  of  the  Church  !  What  will 
become  of  her,  if  the  confession  of  faith  is  \\'anting  ?  A  fortuitous 
aggregation  of  certain  societies  ahnost  civil,  of  which  each  follows 
its  own  good  pleasure  or  the  Avill  of  its  masters ;  a  tree,  deprived 
of  its  common  trunk,  and  whose  branches  separated,  dispersed — 
are  only  ready  to  wither  and  die ;  a  body,  from  which  the  head 
has  been  severed,  and  whose  members  are  scattered  to  the  four 
winds.  How,  in  such  a  state  as  this,  can  she  obtain  the  victory 
over  her  adversaries  ?  Alas  !  this  is  too  much  the  condition  of  the 
evangelical  Church  at  the  present  moment;  and  it  is  this  which 
gives  us  such  lively  alarm  in  view  of  tlie  dangers  which  menace 
her.  But  let  the  Church  revive  and  build  herself  up  in  her  most 
holy  faith,  and,  in  her  beautiful  unity,  let  her  clothe  herself  with 
the  strength  and  life  which  should  belong  to  a  great  community ; 
let  her  join  together  the  ends  of  the  earth,  to  unite  with  one  heart 
and  one  voice  to  confess  Jesus  her  God, — these  are  the  trumpets 
before  which  would  fall  down  the  fortresses  of  incredulity  and  the 
walls  of  Rome.  "  The  people,"  says  the  Scripture,  in  the  history 
of  Jericho,  "  having  shouted  with  a  great  shout,  the  wall  fell  down 
flat,  so  that  the  people  went  up  into  the  city." 

And  will  any  of  you,  my  brethren,  repeat  the  worldly  maxim, 
that  there  must  be  some  bond  in  the  Church,  for  Avithout  it  she 
cannot  exist  (an  acknowledgment,  which  it  is  well  to  remember) ; 
but  that  this  bond  is  found  in  the  commonly  admitted  principle — 
that  the  Holy  Scriptures  are  the  only  source  of  our  faith.  "  Wc 
have  no  need,"  says  one,  "  of  confessing  any  particular  doctrine  ; 
the  Bible — nothing  but  the  Bible  ;  behold  our  confession."  Is, 
then,  the  Bible  simply  a  certain  volume  of  a  certain  binding,  and  of 
a  certain  form,  in  which  are  found  only  blank  pages  ?  The  liberty 
of  examination  and  iirogress,  adds  another, — this  constitutes  our 
Church ;  we  have  no  necessity  for  doctrines, — each  minister  can 
have  his  own,  and  may  preach  them  at  Avill.  Thus,  then,  my 
brethren,  the  poor  Christian  flocks  will  be  delivered  to  every 
imagination  which  may  pass  through  the  brains  of  their  ministers. 
Every  church  may  be  called  to  change  her  religion  as  often  as  it 
changes  her  pastor !  When  a  new  minister  shall  come  into  a 
curacy,  a  new  religion  Avill  come  with  him  into  the  village  !  One 
will  i)reach  Protestantism,  another  Anabaptism,  a  third  Socinian- 
ism,  a  fourth  Universalism,  a  fifth  Roman  Catholicism,  and,  in 
fhie,  what  not  I — a  sixth  Judaism,  a  seventh  IMahometanism, — for 
Judaism  has  more  foundation  in  the  Bible  than  the  most  of  these 
doctrines,  and  Mahometanism  has  a  more  explicit  faith  in  Jesus 
than  Socinianism  itself.  And  all  this  ought  to  be  for  the  advan- 
tage of  the  poor  parishioners,  obliged,  as  they  are,  with  their 
children  to  assume  all  the  doctrines  of  their  masters  in  the  same 
manner  as  valets  assume  successively  the  livery  of  the  houses  tliey 
serve.  But  at  least  the  latter  are  obliged  to  change  oidy  their 
habits  while  in  your  deplorable  .system,  that  will  be  the  true  faith, 
— that  is  to  say,  the  faith  which  saves  unto  eternal  life— which 
must  be  for  ever  changing  in  the  souls  of  the  believers. 


60 


THE    CHURCH 


'  But  is  not  the  liberty  of  examination,  proceed  they,  is  not  pro- 
gress, is  not  research  sufficient  ?  Doubtless  we  need  examination 
and  progress,  but  we  need  sound  ones,  and  such  as  produce  the 
fruits  of  salvation  and  life.  With  you  these  are  only  phrases  under 
which  you  conceal  your  iudifference.  What  signifies,  I  pray  you, 
your  examination,  which  discerns  nothing,  and  retains  nothing\' 
Of  what  consequence  is  your  research,  which,  ever  searching, 
never  finds  anything  ?  What  signifies  your  progress,  if,  like  the 
traveller  in  the  fable,  you  are  for  ever  travelling  and  never  arrive 
at  the  goal  ?  For  observe,  that  in  this  miserable  system,  although 
it  may  be  enjoined  on  the  Church  to  seek  her  true  doctrine,  it  is 
forbidden  her  ever  to  find  it.  The  moment  she  has  found  it,  and 
consequently  proclaimed  it,  that  moment  the  system  will  be  de- 
stroyed, for  she  will  possess  a  doctrine  and  will  enter  into  the  truth 
of  the  Lord. 

No,  my  brethren,  it  is  impossible  that  the  Church  should  have 
meditated  during  so  many  ages  on  the  oracles  of  God,  which  make 
wise  the  simple,  and  should  not  yet  know  what  is  found  therein. 
It  is  impossible  that  the  Church  should  believe  in  the  Scripture, 
and  yet  be  ignorant  of  what  the  Scripture  says.  The  Church 
knows  from  the  beginning;  she  knows  from  Paul  and  Peter;  she 
knows  from  Athanasius  and  Augustine  ;  she  knows  from  Luther 
and  Calvin ;  she  knows  at  this  moment,  everywhere,  in  all  time, 
in  every  clime ;  what  she  believes,  what  she  rejects,  what  she 
needs,  "  God  manifest  in  the  flesh."  And  if  there  are,  alas ! 
some  doctors,  some  churches,  who  have  withdrawn  from  this 
glorious  and  consoling  confession,  it  is  only  men  have  fallen  away, 
— the  confession  is  lasting.  The  grass  withereth  and  the  flower 
thereof  falleth  away,  but  the  word  of  the  Lord  endureth  for  ever. 

Thus  then,  my  brethren  (and  this  is  our  conclusion),  let  a  coura- 
geous confession  of  the  Lord  rise  from  the  midst  of  the  ruins  lieap- 
ed  up  in  the  field  of  the  Lord,  and  let  a  mighty  voice  go  forth  hv- 
ing  and  faithful  from  the  very  bowels  of  the  revival.  But,  you 
reply,  do  you  then  maintain  that  the  Church  in  onr  day  ought  to 
confess  in  an  authentic  and  universal  manner  its  faith  as  she  did  in 
the  1 6th  century .' 

And  why  not,  my  brethren  ?  Are  we  then  among  those  who 
think  a  commandment  of  God,  obligatory  in  one  age,  is  not  equally 
so  in  another .'  I  do  not  say  that  the  form  ought  to  be  that  of  the 
16th  century;  it  may  be  quite  another;  not  perhaps  a  confession 
made  once  for  all,  but  frequent  and  repeated  confessions  ;  not  per- 
haps confessions  written  with  paper  and  ink,  but  living  confes- 
sions made  with  the  lips  and  in  the  life.  "  Every  age  has  its  pecu- 
liar mode  of  confessing  Jesus  Christ,  just  as  every  age  has  its  pe- 
culiar mode  of  persecuting  his  confessors."* 

I  acknowledge  with  joy  that  some  moiUhs  have  already  spok- 
en ;  that  some  mouths  yet  speak.  But  here  I  lay  down  this  sim- 
ple proposition,  that  the  Church,  everywhere  in  the  earth,  if  she 
truly  awaits  her  Leader,  ought  to  confess  with  an  unity  and  an 

*  Quesnel. 


AND    HER    VOCATION.  Gl 

universality,  greater  than  she  has  ever  yet  exhibited, that  Christ  is 
truly  the  Saviour  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father. 

But  you  will  still  rejoin,  this  has  reference  to  ministers ;  you 
should  preach  to  them  and  not  to  us.  What .'  Do  the  ministers 
constitute  the  Church  .'  This  is  only  true  in  the  language  of  the 
Papacy.  You  are  the  Church,  and  your  duty  as  well  as  ours  is, 
to  confess  Jesus  Christ.  When  the  Church  confessed, her  faith  at 
Augsburg  before  Charles  V.,  she  did  it  only  by  her  laity.  Princes 
Avould  not  relinquish  this  honor  to  theologians.  Will  you  now 
renounce  the  same  honor  .'  Be  then,  my  brethren,  confessors  of 
Jesus  Christ ;  first  as  individuals,  as  souls  called  from  darkness 
into  the  marvellous  light  of  the  gospel,  and  who  show  forth  the 
virtues  of  him  who  has  bought  them,  by  their  words,  in  their 
lives  and  m  all  their  actions. 

Be  confessors  of  Christ,  my  brethren,  but  let  your  confession  be 
nourished  in  faith  and  in  the  life  of  the  soul.  Confession  can  be 
free  and  sincere  without,  only  as  sanctification  advances  within. 
A  confession  with  the  lips,  without  the  renunciation  of  self,  with- 
out life  in  the  heart,  is  hypocrisy,  is  an  abomination  before  God. 

Be  confessors  of  Jesus  Christ,  my  brethren,  but  confess  him 
with  wisdom  and  charity,  without  a  useless  affectation  of  singular- 
ity, without  placing  too  greatan  imi)ortance  on  secondary  objects, 
without  forgetting  to  watch  with  care  over  the  dispositions  of  the 
heart.  Your  father  or  your  mother  perhaps  demand  of  you  an 
act  of  conformity  to  the  \vorld  ;  you  refuse  ;  you  do  well ;  but  if 
you  do  so,  failing  in  reverence  or  gentleness  towards  them,  you 
sin  against  the  Lord. 

Be  confessors  of  Jesus  Christ,  my  brethren,  but  confess  him  will- 
ingly with  boldness,  with  joy,  not  with  that  timidity,  that  con- 
trite and  mournful  air,  with  which  Christians  are  sometimes  re- 
proached. Thei-e  is  joy  in  the  harmony  of  an  identical  and  uni- 
versal faith,  but  there  is  sadness  in  the  discord  of  hinnan  opinions. 
You  have  nothing  to  fear.  "  Whosoever  shall  confess  that  Jesus 
is  the  Son  of  God,  God  dwelleth  in  him  and  he  in  God:"  and  "  He 
that  is  in  us,  is  greater  than  he  that  is  in  the  world." 

Be  confessors  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  let  each  fulfil  this  duty  in  the 
situation  in  which  God  has  placed  him.  Let  the  magistrate  con- 
fess Christ  in  the  council ;  let  the  mechanic  confess  him  in  the 
work-shop,  let  the  man  of  business  confess  him  in  the  midst  of 
his  occupations,  let  the  laborer  confess  him  in  the  field,  let  the  mo- 
ther of  the  family  confess  him  in  her  house,  lot  the  soldier  confess 
him  under  arms,  let  each  one,  whatever  may  be  his  situation, 
regard  it  as  a  holy  place,  in  which  he  is  called  to  confess  the 
Lord  ? 

Young  men,  who  have  come  hither  from  different  countries, 
having  quitted  anew  the  paternal  roof,  to  resume  grave  studies,* 
be  confessors  of  Jesus  Christ !  Renounce  the  world  and  the  flesli ; 
be  not  disciples  and  servants  of  human  masters,  be  not  high  in 
your  own  esteem ;  not  only  belong  to  Jesus  but  belong  entirely  to 

•  The  students  of  the  Theological  School. 


63  THE    CHURCH 

him ;  confess  Jesus  in  your  intercoiu'se  with  this  people,  and  one 
day  as  hghts  of  the  Church  in  the  midst  of  the  world. 

But  we  hold,  my  brethren,  to  individual  confession.  Every- 
where in  the  works  of  God  we  find  union,  harmony,  and  we  see 
great  things  effected  by  them.  In  our  mountains  one  drop  of 
water  detached  from  the  glacier  unites  with  another ;  streams 
join  with  streams,  torrents  mingle  with  torrents,  and  these  united 
waters  fornl  those  magnificent  rivers  which  flow  from  afar  through 
the  plains,  and  bear  life  and  fertility  upon  their  bosom.  In  the 
morning  of  creation,  when  "  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy,"  a 
world  came  at  the  bidding  of  the  Eternal  to  place  itself  near  an- 
other world  ;  "  the  morning  stars  sang  together;"  and  the  heavens 
began  that  harmonious  course  of  the  universe  which  fills  the  soul 
with  astonishment  and  adoration.  When  the  beloved  disciple 
was  ravished  in  spmt,  so  that  he  saw  "  a  throne  and  some  one 
set  upon  the  throne,  a  voice  joined  to  another  voice,  many  angels 
around  the  throne  imited  their  accents,  and  they  were  many  mil- 
lions, and  every  creature  which  is  in  heaven,  and  on  the  earth, 
and  under  the  earth,  and  such  as  are  in  the  sea,  and  all  that  are 
in  them  replied,  and  all  their  voices  united  were  as  the  voice  of 
many  waters  and  as  the  voice  of  a  great  thunder."  Oh  !  should 
not  Ave,  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord,  do  the  same  !  Let  the  voices 
of  those  who  are  here  below,  strangers  elect  and  dispersed  in  the 
world,  unite  together  in  holy  enthusiasm  and  holy  courage  to  ren- 
der glory  to  Jesus  Christ.  Let  us  for  once  go  out  of  our  petty  indi- 
vidualities, let  us  not  content  ourselves  with  our  feeble  voices 
scattered  here  and  there ;  that  there  may  be  upon  the  earth  a 
mighty  concert,  a  glorious  harmony  to  celebrate  Him  who  has 
redeemed  us  by  his  blood.  Then  would  the  world,  which  until 
now  has  been  regardless  of  Christ,  be  constrained  to  listen,  and 
the  voice  of  the  Church  would  become  so  powerful  that  all  the 
kindreds  of  the  nations  should  awaken  and  prostrate  themselves 
before  the  Lord. 

Oh !  that  my  voice  could  reach  beyond  this  narrow  place  !  that 
it  could  be  heard  in  the  vast  temples  of  this  city  in  which  in  times 
gone  by  resounded  the  faithful  voices  of  our  fathers;  if  reachmg 
farther  on  it  could  reach  the  church  of  Vaud,  the  church  of  France, 
the  universal  church  of  the  Lord,  and  say  to  the  great  assembly. 
Let  us  confess  the  Lord  as  the  Lamb  who  was  slain,  and  who  is 
worthy  to  receive  power,  and  riches,  and  wisdom,  and  strength, 
and  honor,  and  glory,  and  blessing. 

Lord !  I  cannot  do  this ;  my  weak  voice  must  remain  in  this 
humble  chapel,  but  thou  canst  =  accomplish  it!  Speak,  Lord! 
speak,  and  may  thy  servants  hear !  Dispel  the  illusions,  rend  the 
veils,  break  with  thy  powerful  hand  the  chains  which  bind  gene- 
rous souls  whom  thou  hast  called  unto  liberty;  grant  that  none  of 
thy  servants,  "  consulting  flesh  and  blood,"  may  open  their  ears 
to  the  thousand  voices  of  the  world  which  insinuate  themselves 
to  put  to  silence  thy  confession,  while  they  shut  their  ears  to  thy 
voice,  which  calls  upon  them  to  confess  thee  before  men.  The 
day  advances,  the  time  is  ripening  for  the  manifestation  of  thy 


AND    HER    VOCATION.  63 

salvation;  call  thy  Church,  cause  each  of  our  souls  to  hear  thy 
awful  voice,  before  that  solemn  approaching  day,  when  seated 
on  the  clouds  thou  shalt  say  to  many :  '•  Father !  they  were  ashamed 
of  me,  now  1  am  ashamed  of  them."  Oh  !  that  this  disgi-ace  may 
never  be  ours,  but  rather  may  we  be  of  those  to  whom  thou  wilt 
say  in  the  day  of  thy  glory :  I  have  seen  thy  testimony,  I  have 
seen  thy  humiliations,  I  have  seen  thy  fidelity,  thy  courage,  the 
confession  of  my  name  which  thou  hast  made  !  I  declare  them 
now  before  the  assembled  universe  !  Enter,  faithful  servant,  into 
the  kingdom  of  thy  Lord  !    Amen ! 


THE 


CHILDREN    OF    GOD 


TRANSLATED  BY  M.  M.  BACKUS. 


THE  CHILDREN   OF  GOD. 


A  DISCOURSE  DELIVERED  AT  GENEVA,  JULY,  1829. 


"  He  came  unto  his  own,  and  his  own  received  him  not;  but  to  as  many  as  receired  him 
to  them  gave  he  power  to  become  the  sons  of  God,  even  to  them  that  believe  on  his  name : 
which  were  born  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God." 
—John  i.  11,  12,  13. 

The  Lord  had  chosen  the  people  of  Israel  in  order  to  keep  alive 
the  knowledge  of  Hhnself  and  the  hope  of  His  salvation,  while 
all  other  nations  walked  in  darkness.  He  had  brought  them  out 
of  Egypt,  established  them  in  Canaan,  preserved  them  distinct  in 
the  midst  of  other  nations  of  the  earth ;  and,  when  the  appointed 
time  was  come,  in  which  the  Lord  should  humble  Himself,  and 
appear  as  a  man  among  men.  He  comes  at  first,  says  the  Gospel, 
unto  His  own — He  comes  into  the  midst  of  His  own  people,  just  as 
a  man,  arriving  in  a  city,  goes  first  to  his  own  dwelling,  and  not 
to  the  abode  of  strangers.  But  His  family  would  not  recognize 
Him ;  His  own  received  Him  not,  they  repulsed  Him,  and  crucified 
the  Lord  of  glory !  Yet  there  was  a  chosen  remnant  in  Israel,  who 
received  by  faith  Jesus  the  Lord.  Soon,  from  among  the  nations 
of  the  earth,  an  immense  number  cried  Hosanna  to  Him  who 
came  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  all  Jews,  Greeks,  Scythians, 
bond  and  free,  were  made  children  of  God.  I  have  sanctified  my 
king  in  Zion,  the  mountain  of  my  holiness  ;  I  will  give  him  the  hea- 
then for  his  inheritance,  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  his  pos- 
session. 

But  does  not  the  same  thing  still  happen  unto  ourselves  ? 
Doubtless  there  are  many  who  receive  Christ  the  Lord  and  enter 
into  the  family  of  God  ;  but  how  many  reject  Him .'  how  many  re- 
main sadly  without  Him  .'  Listen  but  to  the  conversation  of  men ; 
open  the  writings  which  find  the  highest  favor  with  them  ;  con- 
template the  course  of  the  world ;  above  all,  study  your  own 
heart.  Have  you  there  received  Jesus  Chri.st?  Oh,  my  dear 
hearers  !  we  would  put  forth  a  feeble  efibrt  to  give  you  a  better 
knowledge  of  the  riches,  that  you  have,  perhaps,  hitherto  de- 
spised. We  announce  to  you  to-day,  then,  a  fact,  Avhich  has  bet- 
ter claims  on  your  attention  than  every  other  fact  whicli  is  pre- 


68  THE    CHILDREN    OF    GOD. 

seiited  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Christ  has  come  to  estabhsh, 
in  the  midst  of  all  human  families,  a  family  of  God.  God,  by  one 
vast  adoption,  assumes  all  who  believe  for  his  sons  and  daughters. 
You  can  be  accounted  of  this  number  ;  it  is  only  necessary  that  you 
truly  receive  by  faith  Jesus  Christ.  Oh,  man  !  my  brother — thou 
mayest  be  adopted  into  the  family  of  God,  and  thou  wilt  not ! 
Let  me  unfold  this  important  subject,  presenting,  as  it  does, 
Christianity  in  all  its  divine  grandeur ;  and,  above  all,  let  us  seek 
to  dissipate  the  numerous  errors  in  which  it  has  been  enveloped. 
Come,  Lord  !  come  unto  us  to-day  by  Thy  word  !  Come  Thyself 
to  the  door  !  Knock — and  may  we  hear  Thee,  may  we  open  to 
Thee,  and  may  we  receive  Thee  with  joy  !  May  there  be  many 
souls  who  will  enter  into  Thy  house,  who  may  be  reckoned  in 
the  number  of  the  children  of  God,  to  praise  Thee  now  and  for 
ever,  with  all  the  kindred,  who  are  named  in  the  heavens  and 
upon  earth.    Amen. 

NECESSITY. 

And  first  we  address  ourselves  to  you  who,  recognizing  the 
Scriptures  as  the  word  of  God,  say:  "God  is  the  father  of  the 
human  race.  All  men  are  His  children,  without  exception, 
without  distinction  of  religious  faith,  Jews,  Christians,  Mahome- 
daus,  Pagans — we  have  all  but  one  Father,  and  we  are  all  breth- 
ren." 

Before  refuting  your  opinion  we  ought  to  grant  that  it  is 
grounded  upon  various  foundations.  It  is  true  that  God  shows 
his  paternal  goodness  to  all  men,  and  makes  his  sun  to  rise  upon 
the  good  and  on  the  wicked  :  it  is  true  that  we  are  all  brethren  in 
Adam,  that  is  to  say,  we  have  all  lost  the  holiness  and  primitive 
glory  of  our  nature,  and  form  by  our  birth  but  one  family,  exposed 
to  sin,  to  the  miseries  of  life  and  to  death.  It  is  also  true  that  God 
has  no  respect  of  nations,  of  religions,  the  sect,  or  the  visible 
Church  in  which  one  is  born ;  and  when  a  soul  awakened  by  the 
sound  of  the  good  news  of  Christ  believes  on  Him  that  he  might  have 
life,  He  receives  that  soul  with  joy  whatever  may  be  the  standard 
under  which  he  was  born,  whether  of  abominable  idols,  of  the 
false  prophet  of  Rome,  or  the  glorious  standard  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. From  my  very  soul  1  recognize  the  truth  that  God  has  no  respect 
of  persons. 

But  Christ  has  actually  been  given  to  the  world  to  create  in  it 
2l  family  of  God  in  quite  another  sense  ;  in  a  sense  much  more  in- 
timate and  true  than  it  is  of  the  human  species  in  general.  The 
word  of  God  which  is  the  truth,  proclaims  to  us  that  to  be  children 
of  God,  is  quite  a  different  thing  from  being  simply  children  of  Adam. 
Turn  to  our  text :  To  as  many  as  received  him  to  them  gave  he  power 
to  become  the  sons  of  God.  Those,  then,  who  have  not  received  him, 
or  will  not  receive  him  do  not  enjoy  this  right.  The  meaning  of 
the  Word  is  clear.  Refer  to  the  tivclfth  Chapter  of  Matthew.  For 
whosoever  shall  do  the  will  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven,  the  same  is 
my  brother  and  sister  and  mother.    Whosoever  therefore  does  not  the 


THE    CHILDREN    OF    GOD.  69 

holy  will  of  the  Everlasting  Father,  is  not  the  brother,  nor  sister  of 
Christ,  and  consequently,  not  the  child  of  God.  In  the  epistle  to 
the  Romans,  chapter  viii :  For  as  mantj  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  theij  arc  the  sons  of  God.  Those,  then,  who  are  not  led  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  but  by  their  own  spirit,  are  not  his  children.  It  is  im- 
possible to  receive  the  Word  without  receiving  also  its  conclu- 
sions. 

You  well  understand,  in  the  interpretation  of  our  human  laws, 
that  when  the  child  of  any  man  is  his  by  adoption  it  is  because  he 
is  not  so  by  nature.  Why  not  apply  to  the  things  of  God,  this  plain 
common  sense  which  directs  us  in  the  things  of  this  world  .' 
Christianity  proclaims  to  the  sinner  who  believes  a  free  and  gratui- 
tous adoption  into  the  family  of  the  God  of  heaven.  Man  is  then, 
by  nature,  out  of  the  family  of  the  Most  High,  and  he  can  enter 
therein  only  by  an  act  of  mercy  and  of  love  from  Him,  who  would 
be  his  father.  "  God  sent  forth  his  son,  made  of  a  woman,  made 
under  the  law,  to  redeem  them  that  were  under  the  law,  that  we 
might  receive  the  adoption  of  Sons  ....  Wherefore  thou  art  no 
more  a  servant  but  a  son."  Oh  !  if  men  by  nature  are  children  of 
God,  what  children,  great  God,  are  like  thy  children  .'  Are  those 
thy  children  in  whom  there  is  so  entire  a  forgetfulness  of  their 
Father  ?  We  speak  not  solely  of  the  nations  who  prostrate  them- 
selves at  the  feet  of  idols,  but  of  ourselves  by  our  own  nature  ; 
do  we  not  constantly  forget  the  great  God  in  all  our  actions,  all 
our  words,  all  our  thoughts,  and  seek  only  ourselves  and  our  own 
good.'  Are  these  indeed  the  children  of  God,  having  the  nature 
of  their  Father,  who  are  prone  to  pride,  to  envy,  to  hatred,  to 
wrath,  to  covetousuess,  in  a  word,  to  sin  which  God  abhors? 
What  family.  Lord,  should  be  like  thy  family  .'  What !  shall  all 
this  corruption,  all  these  vices,  all  these  crimes,  all  those  abomi- 
nations w^hich  one  dares  not  even  to  name,  which  are  found  in  the 
world,  shall  all  these  exist  in  thy  family .'  A  family  so  full  of  dis- 
orders would  be  disowned  even  by  men ;  and  should  this  be  the 
family  of  God.'  thine,  oh  God  !  who  art  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold 
iniquity.  No,  my  brethren,  these  fine  words,  that  we  are  all  the 
children  of  God,  are  the  declamations  of  a  carnal  sensibility,  but 
are  not  according  to  the  truth ;  they  are  the  words  either  of  fraud 
or  error.  Yes,  we  are  by  birth  children — but  learn  from  the  word 
of  God  himself  ichat  kind  of  children  :  chii.dukn  of  disobedience, 
as  says  St.  Paul  to  the  Ephesians,  children  of  wrath.,  he  continues 
disobedient,  foolish,  says  he  to  Titus,  living  in  malice  and  envy,  hate- 
ful and  hating  one  another.  There  is  no  diflerence,  we  have  all 
come  short  of  the  glory  of  God. 

THE    ME.ANS. 

But  here,  my  brethren,  I  discover  among  us  other  thoughts  and 
another  class  of  persons.  You,  my  dear  hearers,  far  from  think- 
hig  so  lightly  of  becoming  a  child  of  God,  you  imagine  you  can 
never  become  one.  To  be  a  son,  a  daughter  of  God.'  what  a  privi- 
lege, you  exclaim  !  what  a  happiness"!  what  a  glory !  but  how 


70  '  THE    CHILDREN    OF    GOD. 

dare  we  pretend  to  a  relation  so  touching  and  so  beautiful  with 
the  great  God  of  the  universe  ?  Perhaps  there  are  those  who  can 
thus  aspire,  but  for  myself,  I  cannot.  I  am  too  insignificant,  too 
sinful — I  remain  afar :  and  I  bow  my  head  in  the  dust  before  the 
face  of  the  King  of  kings.  Who  can  abide  in  the  day  of  his  com- 
ing, and  who  can  stand  when  he  shall  appear .' 

Oh  ye,  who  are  filled  with  such  fear,  haply  the  word  of  your 
God  does  not  make  the  thing  as  impossible  as  does  your  own 
heart.  You  Avould  have  reason  for  such  apprehensions  if  this 
privilege  were  to  be  gained  by  yourself;  but  know  that  this  adop- 
tion into  the  family' of  God  is  a  gift,  a  free  gift  which  the  God  of 
Heaven  makes  by  his  beloved  Son  :  To  as  many  as  received  him, 
to  them  gave  he  power  to  become  the  sons  of  God : — gave,  says 
the  Word,  not  sold ;  given  as  a  tender  father  makes  a  gift  to  his 
son,  or  as  a  rich  man,  powerful  and  good,  makes  the  gift  of  adop- 
tion to  the  poor  abandoned  child,  whom  he  thus  makes  rich  by  a 
simple  act  of  his  great  compassion  and  of  his  great  love.  Why 
would  you  refuse  to  God  the  privilege  of  giving,  of  giving  gratui- 
tously such  great  blessings .' 

But  how,  you  say,  can  I  be  assured  that  this  pardon  is  truly 
given ;  that  this  salvation  is  truly  acquired ;  that  God  adopts  for 
himself  a  family  on  earth .'  How  ?  Because  God  himself  has 
spoken  it;  because  He  from  whom  such  grace  proceeds  has 
caused  it  to  be  announced  and  published  in  all  places ;  because 
he  declares  it  to  you  by  his  ministers,  by  his  sacraments,  by  his 
Word  ;  by  his  Word  which  is  the  truth.  Assuredly  that  which  is 
spoken  by  the  Eternal,  the  True,  is  well  worthy  of  our  belief.  If 
some  unnatural  wicked  children,  having  been  banished  from  the 
paternal  roof,  loaded  with  a  father's  curse,  should  soon  after  learn 
the  news  of  that  father's  death,  with  what  trouble — with  what  an- 
guish would  the  thought  of  that  parent's  curse  fill  their  souls ! 
But  suppose  that  a  friend  should  come  unto  one  of  these  sons  and 
should  place  in  his  hand  a  letter,  a  will  ^vritten  by  that  father,  in 
which  Avere  written  these  words  :  "  I  declare  unto  my  children, 
into  whose  hands  these  lines  may  fall,  that  before  giving  up  my 
last  breath  I  withdrew  from  them  all  my  curses  ;  1  pardon  them 
everything,  and  from  my  death-bed  1  raise  my  hands  to  heaven  for 
them,  to  bless  them  and  constitute  them  anew  my  children,  my 
heirs."  The  child  considers  these  lines ;  he  exclaims,  "  It  is  my 
father's  writing  !  it  is  his  signature,  it  is  his  seal !  it  is  himself  who 
has  said  it !  How  can  I  doubt .'  I  am  blessed.  I  am  saved.  My 
father  has  caused  me  to  attain  unto  this  assurance.  I  am  at  peace. 
I  believe  the  testimony  of  my  father." 

Unto  you  likewise  I  bring  a  letter,  0  my  brethren  !  a  letter  writ- 
ten by  Himself,  furnished  with  his  signature,  and  impressed  with 
his  seal :  a  letter  which  he  has  sent  from  heaven  to  earth ;  a  letter 
of  pardon:  a  letter  of  amnesty:  a  letter  of  adoption:  a  letter  of 
peace.  Listen  !  listen  to  that  which  is  Avritten  in  this  letter  by  the 
finger  of  God  himself.  In  this  letter  it  is  written, — I  take  the  eter- 
nal word  as  witness  :  Jesus  saves  his  people  from  their  sins.  There  is 
therefore  now  no  condemnation  to  them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus. — 


THE    CHILDREN    OF    GOD.  71 

Having  been  made  perfect,  Christ  has  become  the  eternal  salvation  unto 
all  them  that  obey  him.  God  gives  eternal  life,  and  this  life  is  in  his 
Son.  He  who  has  the  Son  has  life.  To  as  many  as  receive  him  to 
them  gives  he  power  to  become  the  sons  of  God.  Will  you  not  believe 
the  testimony  of  God?  This  testimony  written  in  a  Testament 
which  each  of  you  possesses  in  his  own  dwelling,  which  you  can 
read  and  read  again.  Will  you  refuse  to  believe  a  Testament  dic- 
tated from  the  cross,  sealed  with  the  blood  of  its  author  ?  Alas ! 
can  you  believe  the  testament  of  a  father,  and  will  you  not  believe 
that  of  God  ?  a  will  which  puts  you  in  possession  of  so  glorious 
an  inheritance  !  "  If  we  receive  the  witness  of  men,  the  witness 
of  God  is  greater;  for  this  is  the  witness  of  God,  which  he  hath 
testified  of  his  Son." 

If,  then,  you  have  believed  this  witness,  and  have  thus  received 
Jesus  Christ,  you  are  become  in  God,  my  brother,  you  are  be- 
come his  child  ;  already,  here  below,  you  belong  unto  him  !  And 
when  He  shall  call  you  from  this  earth,  it  will  be  a  father's  voice 
to  call  you  home  to  himself.  You  will  enter  then  into  the  pater- 
nal mansion  in- the  heavens.  Oh  what  a  glorious  prospect !  what 
happiness  to  you  is  given  ! 

If  you  have  received  Jesus  Christ,  the  God  Saviour,  who  has 
borne  in  himself  the  curse  of  sm,  and  who  has  humbled  and  van- 
quished it  by  His  divine  power,  why  can  you  still  doubt  that  you 
may  become  children  of  God  7  Do  you  speak  of  your  sins  .'  True, 
but  Christ,  who  is  now  your  Saviour,  has  borne  them,  says  the  Scrip- 
ture, has  expiated  them  on  the  cross :  he  has  scattered  them  as  a 
cloud,  he  has  cast  them  into  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  And  of  them  not 
the  smallest  jiart  shall  ever  be  brought  to  light. 

Do  you  speak  of  your  insignificance,  of  your  nothingness,  of  the 
misery  of  this  human  nature  which  is  your's  .'  True  :  but  Christ, 
the  Son  of  God,  has  taken  this  humanity ;  he  has  become  the 
Brother  of  man  ;  the  human  nature  has  been  glorified  by  the  divin- 
ity of  Him  whom  it  has  clothed.  It  may  belong  to  God  and  enter 
into  heaven.  What  is  there  in  this  which  need  astonish  you  ? 
The  Son  of  God  is  become  the  Son  of  man  :  cannot  the  son  of  man 
become  then  the  son  of  God  1  He  who  was  in  heaven  is  become 
a  member  of  the  family  of  the  earth :  may  not  then  he  who  is  on 
the  earth  become  a  member  of  the  family  of  heaven  ?  And  if  the 
Son  of  God  was  not  ashamed  to  call  himself  our  brother  in  the 
midst  of  our  miseiy,  will  he  be  ashamed  to  call  us  his  brethren  in 
the  midst  of  all  his  glory  and  his  immortal  grandeur  .'  Behold  what 
manner  of  love  the  father  hath  bestoxved  upon  us  that  we  should  be  called 
the  sons  of  God ! 


"  Certainly,"  you  say,  my  dear  hearers,  "  certainly,  we  admit  all 
these  things;  we  are  born  in  the  Christian  church  ;  we  believe  in 
Jesus  Christ:  we  think  that  it  is  through  Him  we  can  call  God  our 
Father."  It  may  be  so.  Meanwhile,  however,  we  invite  you  can- 
didly to  examine  yourselves,  to  see  if  you  truly  possess  the  faith 


72  THE    CHILDREN    OF    GOD. 

of  which  the  Scripture  speaks.  You  imagine  that  one  can  receive 
Christ  and  become  a  child  of  God  by  faith,  without  this  faith  pro- 
ducing any  change  in  the  heart.  This  is  the  third  error  that  Ave 
would  refute  :  for  as  many  as  receive  him,  says  our  text,  are  born  not 
of  blood  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God. 

The  children  of  God  aj-e  not  born  of  blood  :  whatever  the  nation, 
the  sect,  the  family  in  which  they  are  born ;  whether  of  the  seed 
of  Abraham,  the  children  of  the  holiest  man  on  earth,  tracing  back 
their  descent  from  generation  to  generation,  to  kindred  the  most 
distinguished  for  their  faith,  even  all  these  cannot  constitute  one  a 
child  of  God.     The  children  of  God  are  not  born  of  blood. 

They  are  not  born  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,-  It  is  not  our  own  wis- 
dom, our  own  strength,  that  can  make  us  the  children  of  God. 
The  flesh,  that  is,  our  fallen  and  corrupt  nature,  has  neither  the 
will  nor  the  power  to  become  such.  That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh 
is  flesh. 

They  are  not  born  of  the  loill  of  man.  No  man  can  assure  the 
conversion  of  the  dearest  relatives,  or  of  the  most  beloved  friends. 
No  minister  of  the  Gospel  can  choose  or  even  conjecture  before- 
hand the  souls,  to  whom  his  ministry  will  be  blessed.  The  wisest 
advice,  the  powerful  exhortations  of  men,  will  not  avail,  unaccom- 
panied by  other  influences,  to  form  a  single  child  of  God.  They 
are  not  born  of  the  will  of  man. 

Of  what  then  are  they  born  ?  Our  text  says,  they  are  born  of  God. 
There  is  something  new-born  in  them,  created  by  God.  Adop- 
tion is  not  here,  as  is  frequently  the  case  in  the  world,  a  simple 
affair  of  titles  and  honor ;  but  it  is  accompanied  by  a  real  change 
in  those  who  are  adopted.  It  may  happen  in  the  world,  if  a  good 
man  adopts  a  wicked  child,  that  this  adoption,  imder  the  divine 
blessing,  may  change  the  character  of  the  child  ;  but  that,  which  in 
human  adoption  may  or  may  not  occur,  always  takes  place  in  the 
adoption  of  God.  The  child  of  God  receives,  not  only  the  name,  but 
the  nature  of  his  Father.  Every  man,  who  is  adopted  of  God,  re- 
ceives at  the  same  time  a  new  spirit,  and  becomes  a  neiv  man. 
What  shall  hinder  it .'  God,  who  in  the  beginning  created  out  of 
nothing  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  can,  doubtless,  create  in  man 
a  new  heart,  and  make  of  him  a  new  creature.  According  to  His 
mercy  he  saved  us  bij  the  washing  of  regeneration,  and  reneiving  of  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

And  why,  my  dear  hearers,  do  you  not  feel  that,  if  you  ought 
to  belong  to  the  family  of  God,  you  ought  also  to  have  the  spirit 
which  animates  this  family,  the  holiness  which  is  its  nature,  the 
filial  confidence  and  the  love,  which  are  its  sweet  privileges  .'  If 
a  man  of  high  rank  in  society  adopts  a  child,  educated  in  nide 
and  coarse  manners,  he  requires  that  it  assume  those  habits  and 
manners,  which  belong  to  the  new  state  of  life,  into  which  it  is 
introduced.  If  a  very  learned  man  adopts  a  child  who  has  lan- 
guished in  ignorance,  he  will  give  it  the  instruction  necessary  to 
its  new  situation.  If,  then,  a  change  is  necessary  in  order  to  a 
reception  into  the  families  of  men,  is  it  a  strange  thhig  that  it 
should  be  required  of  one  when  he  enters  into  the  family  of  God  .' 


THE    CHILDREN    OF    GOD.  73 

No,  there  must  likewise  be  a  change,  but  a  change  greater  than 
that  of  outward  habits  and  human  institutions  !  There  must  be 
a  new  heart.  There  must  be  a  new  nature.  There  must  be  a 
first  birth  to  enter  into  the  family  of  man.  There  must  be  a  second 
birth  to  enter  into  the  family  of  God.  Therefore,  if  any  man  be  in 
Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature.  Old  things  are  passed  away,  behold,  all 
things  are  become  new.  If  any  man  have  not  the  spirit  of  Christ,  he 
is  none  of  His.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  except  a  man  be  born 
again  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God. 


But,  when  once  the  child  of  man  has  become,  by  au  adoption, 
full  of  grace,  and,  by  a  new  birth,  a  child  of  God,  what  ought  he 
to  do  ?  What  are  the  errors  which  those  ought  to  shun,  who  have 
entered  into  their  Father's  hou.se  .'  My  brethren,  we  may  all  un- 
derstand these  things  of  which  we  speak  ;  the  spirit  of  adoption 
whereby  we  cry  Abba,  Father,  may  have  been  shed  abroad  in  our 
hearts.  But,  subsequently,  under  the  seduction  of  tlie  sin  which 
doth  so  easily  beset  us,  we  have  exalted  ourselves  because  of  our 
privileges,  we  have  gloried  in  ourselves,  we  have  lived  barren 
and  unfruitful  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  tve  have  not 
brought  forth  fruit  unto  God,  and  have  not  given  diligence  to  make  our 
calling  and  election  sure. 

This  is  the  last  error  I  have  to  notice.  What  remedy  is  there 
for  such  an  evil .'  This  is  it :  consider  the  right  to  be  called  chil- 
dren of  God,  as  a  high  privilege,  as  being  more  than  treasures,  more 
than  the  glory  of  the  world,  more  than  perishable  crowns.  But  ap- 
ply your  heart  constantly  and  specially,  to  ponder  the  (^«??'fs  that  this 
right  imposes  on  you,  and  seek  from  Him,  who  works  in  us  both 
to  roill  and  to  do,  the  power  to  fulfill  them 

And  what  is  your  duty,  children  of  God  .'  It  is  to  become  like 
your  Father.  Be  ye  therefore folloivers  of  God,  as  dear  children,  says  the 
Scripture.  The  imitation  of  vicious  men  and  the  corrupt  world  is 
forbidden  to  the  children  of  God  ;  the  imitation  of  the  virtues  of  the 
just  is  on  the  contrary  recommended ;  but  the  imitation  of  the  most 
sublime  of  models,  of  the  primitive  and  perfect  goodness  of  the 
most  holy  God,  is  the  most  excellent  which  the  child  of  God  can 
propose  to  himself.  It  has  been  said  :  The  essence  of  rehgion  is 
to  imitate  Him,  whom  thou  adorest.  Oh,  my  brethren  !  what  sig- 
nifies all  our  petty  adoration,  all  our  outward  worship,  if  we  strive 
not  to  attain  this  glorious  conformity  .'  The  first  impulse  on  look- 
ing at  a  child,  is  to  seek  in  it  some  features  of  its  parent.  Oh  my 
soul !  shall  some  features  of  my  Father  be  sought  for  in  vam,  in 
thee  .'  Christ  is  the  brightness  of  the  glory  of  God,  the  express  image  of 
his  person.  Form  thyself,  my  soul,  after  this  divine  model.  A  child 
resembles  its  father  not  only  when  there  is  a  similarity  of  features 
and  demeanor,  but  still  more  when  there  is  a  likeness  in  the  heart 
and  in  the  dispositions  of  the  soul.  Above  all,  we  should  bear 
this  resemblance  to  our  Heavenly  Father  in  our  hearts.  When  the 
spirit  of  God  governs  us,  it  sweetens  our  character  and  our  dispo- 
4 


74  THE    CHILDREN    OF    GOD. 

sition.  Let  us  learn  of  Christ  who  is  meek  and  lowly  in  heart ;  let 
ns  walk  in  love  as  Christ  also  hath  loved  us,  and  be  holy, /or  lam 
holy,  saith  the  Lord.  The  son  who  resembles  his  father,  increases 
in  that  resemblance  as  he  advances  in  years;  if  we  are  children 
of  God,  let  us  grow  from  day  to  day  in  his  likeness.  "  But  we  all 
with  open  face  beholding  as  in  a  glass  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  are 
changed  into  the  same  image,  from  glory  to  glory,  even  as  by  the 
spirit  of  the  Lord." 

What  is  your  duty,  children  of  God  ?  If  you  are  children,  you 
ought  in  all  things  to  do  the  will  of  your  Father.  Fathers  !  do  you 
not  exact  this  of  your  children  ?  There  are  often  many  wills  in 
an  earthly  family,  but  in  the  celestial  and  eternal  family  there  is 
but  one  will.  All  the  blessed  inhabitants  of  heaven  perform  with 
joy  and  with  a  single  heart  the  will  of  their  Father :  you  can  some 
day  be  united  to  them,  only  by  doing  on  earth ,  what  they  do  in  heaven. 
Let  us  then  apply  ourselves  to  do  it  well.  Let  us  be  honest  in 
our  bearing  towards  all  men.  Let  us  be  orderly  in  everything 
that  regards  our  temporal  interests,  yet  without  the  love  of 
riches,  without  avarice,  without  vain  glory.  Let  us  carefully  dis- 
charge all  the  duties  of  our  station.  Let  us  be  active,  obliging, 
useful,  ready  to  render  favors,  looking  not  only  on  our  own  things, 
but  also  on  the  things  of  others.  Let  us  be  content  in  the  lot  which 
our  good  Father  has  assigned  to  us,  patient  in  Jrials,  giving  him 
thanks  in  all  things.  Let  us  use  with  eagerness  and  joy,  the 
means  of  sanctification  that  he  offers  us,  praying  with  persever- 
ance, reading  the  Scriptures,  and  offering  to  Him  in  our  houses  and 
in  the  bosom  of  our  families,  spiritual  sacrifices  ;  for  why  should 
we  despise  these  gifts  of  our  Father  .'  We  know,  alas  !  that  here 
below,  we  cannot  do  perfectly  the  will  of  our  Father,  that  we  meet 
obstacles  without  and  within,  and  that  ^ve  make  but  feeble  pro- 
gress. Notwithstanding  all  this,  it  is  upon  earth  that  this  work 
must  be  begun :  while  it  is  yet  day  that  it  should  be  pursued  :  Not 
every  one  that  saith  unto  me,  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  my  Father  lohich  is  in  heaven.  He 
that  doeth  the  will  of  God,  abideihfor  ever. 

Finally,  children  of  God  !  beloved  of  the  Father  !  it  is  your  duty 
to  think  of  your  Father  and  of  the  riches  unto  which  he  has  made 
you  heirs.  In  proportion  as  you  approach  the  great  day  in  which 
you  will  be  pitt  in  possession  of  your  incorruptible  inheritance, 
have  more  elevated,  more  holy  thoughts,  and  become  more  desi- 
rous of  heavenly  things.  One  frequently  sees  a  great  heir  before 
the  period  of  his  majority  arrives,  think  very  little  of  what  he  is  to 
become,  and  entertaining  feelings  very  little  in  accordance  with 
the  grandeur  of  his  future  state.  But  as  he  increases  in  years,  he 
becomes  more  grave,  and  acquires  the  consciousness  of  what  he  is. 
Children  of  God !  heirs  of  eternity  !  the  hour  of  your  entire  re- 
demption draws  nigher  every  day.  In  an  instant  the  thread  of 
your  life  may  perhaps  be  broken  ;  a  few  hours  may  perhaps  find 
you  before  the  throne  of  God.  Your  majority  approaches :  the 
period  of  your  emancipation  is  not  far  distant.  Think  of  these 
things  !  Let  your  affections  be  set  on  things  above.  Let  your  conversa- 
tion be  in  heaven,  from  ivhence  also  we  look  for  the  Saviour,  the  Lord 


THE    CHILDREN    OF    GOD.  7o 

Jesus  Christ.  "  The  children  of  God,"  said  a  faithful  pastor  of  the 
fold  of  Christ,  "  have  three  birthdays.  They  are  born  at  first  of  a 
natural  birth  ;  they  weep ,  but  their  parents  rejoice.  Afterwards  by 
conversion,  they  pass  from  a  state  of  nature  into  the  life  of  God; 
then  they  often  weep  bitterly,  but  the  angels  in  heaven  rejoice. 
Finally  comes  that  which  we  call  death,  and  this  the  primitive 
Christians  regarded  as  the  true  birth  of  the  children  of  God  :  there 
is  still  much  weeping  and  grief,  but  when  all  is  accomplished,  the 
joys  of  eternal  life  begin,  and  there  are  no  more  tears  for  the  chil- 
dren of  God." 

We  have  all  partaken  of  the  first  birth  :  have  we  had  a  part  in 
the  second .'  Are  we  children  of  God  or  are  we  not  ?  This  is  the 
solemn  question  that  the  Word  calls  us  to  make.  If  we  are  not, 
God  grant,  we  may  become  so  this  day  !  May  we  receive  Jesus 
Christ !  May  we  believe  in  his  name,  that  we  may  have  Life  ! 
May  we  be  born  again  ! 

To  you,  who,  hearing  these  words,  may  have  been  convinced 
in  your  hearts  that  you  are  not  yet  children  of  the  adoption,  and 
who  ask  us,  how  may  we  become  such,  Ave  reply :  take  cou- 
rage and  assurance  in  the  grace  and  in  the  love  of  Christ.  He 
seeks  your  salvation  ;  for  it  is  He,  who  has  already  given  you  the 
desire  to  be  saved.  Since  he  has  given  you  the  ivilt,  will  he  not 
give  you  the  fulfillment  ?  Will  he  not  complete  that  which  con- 
cerns you  .'  Oh,  do  not  lean  upon  an  arm  of  flesh  ;  separate  your- 
self from  every  hope  of  salvation  founded  in  yourself,  and  cast 
yoiu'self  into  the  arras  of  the  pure  grace  of  Christ.  Feai;,  not  lest 
he  reject  you,  for  He  is  come  to  seek  and  to  save  that  loJuch  is  lost,  and 
He  has  himself  said ;  Whosoever  comct/i  unto  me  I  will  in  no  loise 
cast  out ;  and  evcrij  one  xohom  my  Father  giveth  me,  cometh  unto  me. 
Go  then  to  Him  in  the  .silence  of  your  closet,  thinking  how  import- 
ant it  is  that  you  should  meet  Him  and  should  find  Him  before 
death  overtakes  you.  Go  to  Him  in  prayer.  He  comes  himself  to 
you,  opens  his  arms  and  says  :  Come,  I  loill  give  peace  to  your  soul  ! 

Then,  when  the  King  of  terrors  presents  himself  to  you,  fear  not, 
children  of  God  !  Death  will  be  for  you  a  glorious  birth.  A  child 
of  dust  dies  to  earth  :  a  child  of  glory  is  born  for  heaven.  A  child 
re-enters  His  Father's  house,  to  receive  the  blessing  of  the  Most  High 
and  the  righteousness  of  God  his  Saviour.  "  Oh  death  !  where  is  thy 
sting  .'  Oh  grave  !  where  is  thy  victory  .'"  "  Lift  up  your  heads,  ye 
everlasting  gates  !  "  To  Him  who  has  become  the  Author  of  our 
eternal  salvation,  and  who  has  given  us  the  power  to  become 
sons  of  God,  heirs  of  God  and  joint  heirs  with  Jesus  Christ,  be 
rendered  the  praise,  the  honor,  the  glory  forever  !  Amen. 


CONFESSION 


NAME    OF    CHRIST 


CONFESSION  OF  THE  NAME  OF  CHRIST. 


"  Whosoever,  therefore,  shall  confess  me  before  men,  him  will  I  confess  also  before  my 
Father  which  is  in  Heaven." — Matthew  x.  3-2. 

It  is  now  three  centuries  since  the  princes  of  Germany,  assem- 
bled in  imperial  Diet  within  the  city  of  Augsburg,  boldly  and 
solemnly  confessed  Jesus  Christ  and  His  word,  before  the  emperor, 
the  princes  of  the  empire  who  still  remained  under  the  dominion 
of  Rome,  and  the  legate  of  Rome  ;  and  in  the  presence,  as  it  were, 
not  only  of  all  Germany,  but  of  the  whole  world.  That  day  was, 
is,  and  ever  shall  be,  till  time  is  no  more,  one  of  the  brightest  days 
of  Christianity.  That  day,  therefore,  all  the  evangelical  churches 
of  Germany,  and  some  even  of  other  countries,  respondhig  to  the 
call  of  their  princes  and  pastors,  celebrate,  with  offerings  of 
thanksgiving  and  praise,  its  third  glorious  centenary. 

"  May  the  commemorative  festival,"  says  one  noble  voice,  in 
assembling  all  who  are  subject  to  his  laws,  "of  the  presentation 
of  this  testimony  to  the  Christian  faith,  which  still  exists,  and  must 
for  ever  continue  as  true  and  firm  as  it  was  three  centuries  ago, 
and  in  the  spirit  of  which  I  write  with  all  my  heart,  contribute  to 
strengthen  and  animate  true  faith  in  the  evangelical  Church,  to 
inspire  all  its  members  with  unity  of  spirit,  true  piety,  and  Christian 
love."  * 

Will  not  you  also  remember,  Protestant  Christians  of  France  ? 
Have  you  not  i^articipated  in  the  blessings  of  that  glorious  day  .' 
Were  you  not  born — do  you  not  repose — are  you  not  combating 
this  very  hour  under  the  spotless  banner  of  the  gospel  of  Christ, 
Avhich  those  noble  men  planted  on  that  memorable  day  in  the 
presence  of  their  enemies.'  Is  it  not  your  belief  which  was  then 
confessed  before  the  universe  by  those  illustrious  princes  and 
pastors ;  and  do  you  not  march  with  unfurled  colors  to  the  same 
holy  war  in  which  they  then  took  up  the  powerful  weapons  of 
the  word  of  God  .' 

But,  alas  !  no.  We  walk  not  as  then  they  walked  !  Ours  are 
"the  hands  which  hang  down,  and  the  feeble  knees ;"  and  the 
heroic  courage  which  formed,  in  those  blessed  days,  the  glory  of 
the  Church  of  Christ,  seems  to  have  forsaken  her.  Therefore, 
especially  ought  we  to  celebrate  that  day ;  so  that  seeing  our- 
selves, as  it  were,  surrounded  "  with  so  great  acloud  of  witnesses 

*  Order  of  His  Maiesty,  the  King  of  Prussi  i 


80  CONFESSION  OF  THE  NAME  OF  CHRIST. 

for  the  truth,  of  magnanimous  confessors  of  the  cross  of  Christ," 
who  "  through  faith  subdued  kingdoms,"  and  "  waxed  vahant  in 
fight,"  we,  ourselves,  may  "  fight  the  good  fight  of  faith."  Stand- 
ing fast  in  one  spirit,  tliey  strove  together  in  that  great  day  for  the 
faith  of  the  gospel,  in  nothing  terrified  by  their  adversaries. 

Followers  of  Christ !  you  are  called  to  do  likewise.  The  times 
in  which  you  live  are  not  less  remarkable  than  those ;  and  the 
same  courage  is  indispensable.  Need  I  tell  you,  my  dear  hear- 
ers, that  there  is  no  allusion  here  to  combats  waged  with  carnal 
weapons  .'  Need  I  tell  you  that  we  have  nothing  to  do  with  con- 
tests inspired  by  violence  or  hatred  ?  Doubtless,  this  is  imneces- 
sary ;  and  were  it  not  so,  the  example  which  is  about  to  be  offer- 
ed to  you  would  sufficiently  enlighten  you  on  that  point. 

As  the  events  which  the  Evangelical  Church  celebrates  this  day 
are  not  sufiiciently  known,  our  design  is  to  retrace  them,  and 
afterwards  draw  from  them  such  instruction  as  they  offer. 

An  historical  discourse  is  contrary  to  our  usual  mode  of  preach- 
ing, but  all  that  serves  to  edification  is  suited  to  the  Christian 
pulpit ;  and,  if  we  require  precedents  and  examples.  Scripture  fur- 
nishes us  with  abundant  and  illustrious  ones.  Was  not  the  ser- 
mon of  Stephen,  the  first  martyr,  an  historical  discourse  ?  Are 
not  most  of  the  discourses  of  St.  Paul,  in  the  Acts,  historical  dis- 
courses ?  What  the  Holy  Spirit  has  adjudged  to  be  good,  we  may 
not  estimate  otherwise.  "  These  things,"  say  the  Scriptures, 
"  were  written  for  our  examples."  O,  Holy  Spirit !  who  didst 
animate  in  those  days  the  heroes  of  the  faith,  kindle,  we  beseech 
thee,  the  same  flame  in  our  hearts  ! 

The  Emperor  Charles  V.,  whose  dominions  were  undoubtedly 
the  most  extensive  that  any  prince  ever  ruled — embracing  a  part 
of  Europe,  America,  and  other  quarters  of  the  world — and  who, 
as  has  been  said,  never  saw  the  sun  set  on  his  vast  empire,  hav- 
ing, in  1530,  subdued  his  enemies,  resolved  to  examine  into  the 
religious  reformation  which  had  taken  place  in  Germany,  and  to 
stifle  the,  so  called,  heresy. 

He  caused  himself  to  be  solemnly  crowned  on  the  24th  of  Feb- 
ruary, his  birth-day,  by  the  Roman  Pontiff,  and  then  remained  for 
some  time  with  him  in  the  same  palace.  The  Emperor  there  pro- 
mised the  Pope  to  annihilate  Protestantism.  He  even  pledged 
himself,  as  it  appears,  to  use,  if  necessary,  violence  and  extreme 
measures — this,  at  least,  was  the  request  made  of  him. 

At  this  news,  some  advised  the  evangelical  princes  to  meet 
Charles,  sword  in  hand,  at  the  foot  of  the  Alps,  and  to  prevent 
him  from  entering  Germany  until  he  should  grant  them  full  reli- 
gious liberty.  But  this  was  mere  worldly  counsel,  and  the  great 
reformer,  Luther,  whom  so  many  are  pleased  to  represent  as  a 
man  of  violent  temper,  succeeded  in  silencing  these  rash  counsel- 
lors ;  "  For  the  weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not  carnal,  but  mighty 
through  God." 

The  Emperor,  however,  finding  it  expedient  to  try  first  the 
efficacy  of  pacific  means,  convoked  an  imperial  Diet  at  Augsburg, 


CONFESSION  OP  THE  NAME  OF  CHRIST.  81 

and  invited  all  tlie  princes  and  states  of  the  empire  to  be  present. 
Several,  recollecting  the  violence  of  the  enemies  of  the  trnth 
which  had  been  exhibited,  among  other  occasions,  at  the  Conn- 
cil  of  Constance,  in  the  torture  of  the  early  reformers,  entreated 
the  Elector  of  Saxony,  the  head  of  the  Protestants,  not  to  go  in 
person  to  Augsburg.  But  the  Elector  determined  to  accept  the 
Emperor's  invitation ;  he  desired  to  confess  Christ  in  the  imperial 
presence.  He  invited  Luther,  Jonas,  Pomeranus,  and  Melanc- 
thon,  four  of  his  greatest  theologians,  to  draw  up  for  this  purpose 
a  confession  of  the  faith  of  the  evangelical  party ;  and,  having 
ordered  prayers  for  a  successful  result  to  be  offered  in  all  his 
states,  he  set  out,  the  3d  of  April,  on  his  journey  to  Augsburg. 

Many  princes,  nobles,  counsellors,  and  theologians  accom- 
panied the  Elector.  The  same  .spirit  animated  them  all  in  this 
solemn  path.  Luther  preached  frequently  during  the  journey, 
strengthening,  by  his  exhortations,  the  faith  of  these  noble  cham- 
pions of  the  gospel. 

At  Weimar,  they  all  partook  together  of  the  communion ;  at 
Coburg,  the  Elector  parted  from  Luther,  and  ordered  him  to  re- 
main there  during  the  session  of  the  Diet.  A  castle,  crowning 
the  summit  of  a  mountain  was  his  home  ;  twelve  knights  guard- 
ed it  night  and  day,  but  the  servant  of  God  had  a  more  secure 
defence,  even  the  Lord,  whom  he  praises  in  a  beautiful  hymn 
composed  at  that  time,  beginning  with  these  words — 

"  How  strong  a  fortress  is  our  God." 

The  Elector  was  the  first  of  all  the  princes  to  arrive  at  Augs- 
burg, to  the  great  astonishment  of  the  many  who  supposed  he 
would  fear  to  present  himself.  Soon,  however,  the  electors, 
princes,  deputies,  bishops,  and  a  multitude  of  soldiers,  crowded 
into  this  city,  filling  it  with  all  the  pomp  of  worldly  splendor. 
"  Why  do  the  heathen  rage,  and  the  people  imagine  a  vain  thing  ? 
The  kings  of  the  earth  set  themselves,  and  the  rulers  take  counsel 
together,  againstthe  Lord,  and  against  his  anointed." 

In  the  midst,  however,  of  all  the  tumult  which  surrounded 
them,  the  zeal  of  the  ministers  of  the  Word  of  God  who  accom- 
panied the  Protestant  princes,  relaxed  not,-  they  preached  the 
Word,  and  shunned  not  to  declare  the  whole  counsel  of  God. 
Their  preaching  produced  the  effect  which  ever  follows  the  Word, 
when  presented  in  any  spot  for  the  first  time.  The  Wortl  of  God 
is  the  cause  of  discussion,  said  Luther.  "  This  is  a  hard  saying, 
who  can  hear  it .'"  Their  discourses  were  complained  of,  though 
they  declared  in  them  only  the  simple  truth  without  controversy. 
Letters  on  the  subject  were  addressed  to  the  Emperor,  who  still 
remained  at  some  distance  from  Augsburg.  In  reply,  he  signified 
his  opinion  that  preaching  should  be  suspended  until  the  doctrine 
was  examhied  and  approved.  The  Elector  consulted  Luther,  and 
the  reformer  gave  a  fresh  instance  of  his  moderation,  advising 
that  the  preaching  shoiUd  be  discontinued  if  the  Emperor  persist- 
ed in  his  demand ;  "  For,"  said  he,  "  the  Emperor  ought  to  be 
4* 


82  CONFESSION  OF  THE  NAME  OF  CHRIST. 

master  in  his  own  city."  The  Elector,  however,  could  not  bring 
himself  to  accede  to  the  wishes  expressed  to  him.  "  It  would  be 
contrary  to  my  conscience,"  replied  he  to  Charles,  "  to  forbid  the 
preaching  of  the  Word  of  God ;  especially  in  these  times,  when 
we  so  greatly  need  all  the  consolation  and  assistance  which  it 
offers."  "  Unless  thy  law  had  been  my  delight,  I  should  then 
have  perished  in  my  affliction,"  said  another  prince,  the  royal 
prophet  David. 

In  the  meantime,  while  Melancthon,  the  friend  of  Luther, 
assisted  by  other  theologians,  was  incessantly  occupied  at  Augs- 
burg in  drawing  up  the  confession,  which  was  to  be  presented 
to  tiie  Diet  by  the  Protestant  princes,  Luther  was  suffering  greatly 
at  Coburg,  both  in  body  and  mind,  and  had  already  chosen  in  his 
desert  (as  he  called  it)  a  place  for  his  grave.  The  Elector  sent 
him  some  remedies  for  his  malady,  and  wrote  to  him  at  the  same 
time  in  words  full  of  affection.  liUther  replied  by  a  letter  admira- 
bly suited  to  console  this  Christian  prince,  amidst  the  formidable 
combat  in  which  he  was  engaged  with  the  enemies  of  the  Gos- 
pel. "Truly,  without  cause,"  he  says,  "you  have  graciously 
condescended  to  be  so  anxious  about  me  ;  three  weeks  have  pass- 
ed so  quickly,  that  they  seem  to  me  scarcely  to  have  been  three 
days.  But  it  is  your  Grace  who  is  now  in  a  pamful  and  danger- 
ous position.  Oh,  may  our  good  God,  who  is  in  heaven,  succor 
you,  so  that  your  heart  may  remain  steadfast  and  patient  in  the 
grace  which  he  has  so  richly  manifested  to  us.  It  must  be  only 
for  the  love  of  God  that  you  endure  so  many  trials  and  dangers, 
since  all  these  princes  and  furious  enemies  can  find  no  other  fault 
in  you  than  that  of  loving  the  pure  and  living  Word  of  God,  and 
acknowledge  that,  for  the  rest,  you  are  a  gentle,  pious,  and  faith- 
ful prince.  And  it  is  certainly  a  strong  evidence  that  God  loves 
you,  since  he  not  only  gives  you  His  holy  Word  freely  to  enjoy, 
but  accounts  you  worthy  also  to  endure  in  its  cause  so  much  en- 
mity and  odium.  It  is  this  which  sheds  such  light  and  peace  over 
the  conscience ;  for  to  have  God  for  one's  friend  is  better  than  to 
have  the  love  of  the  whole  universe." 

Strengthened  by  such  words,  the  Elector  awaited  the  Empe- 
ror's arrival,  which  was  postponed  time  after  time. 

At  length,  on  the  fifteenth  of  June,  every  preparation  was  made 
for  his  solemn  entrance.  The  greatest  magnificence  was  displayed 
on  this  occasion,  doubtless  with  the  design  to  impress  the  Pro- 
testant princes  with  an  exalted  idea  of  the  power  and  majesty  of 
the  Emperor. 

The  electors  and  princes,  with  an  immense  crowd,  went  forth 
to  meet  him.  When  they  had  arrived  within  fifty  paces  of  the 
Emperor,  they  all  dismounted.  The  Roman  legate  seized  the  mo- 
ment to  pronounce  the  papal  benediction.  The  Emperor,  and  all 
his  followers,  received  it  kneeling;  but  the  Elector,  and  all  the 
Protestant  princes,  remained  standing — proving  thus,  in  the  very 
outset,  their  faith  and  their  firmness.  They  resumed  their  route. 
On  arriving  at  the  Bishop's  palace,  where  the  Emperor  was  to 
lodge,  all  were  invited  to  enter,  except  the  noble  Elector  of  Saxony 


CONFESSION  OF  THK  NAME  OF  CHRIST.  83 

and  his  generous  brother  in  the  faith.  They  suffered  with  all  joy 
the  reproach  of  Clu-ist,  and  soon  gave  a  new  proof  of  their  immova- 
ble courage ;  for,  King  Ferdinand,  the  brother  of  Charles,  having 
required  them,  in  the  name  and  presence  of  the  Emperor,  to  sus- 
pend the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  and  to  participate  in  the  pro- 
cession of  the  Holy  Sacrament,  which  was  to  take  place  the  next 
day,  the  Margrave  of  Brandenlaurg,  standing  forth  in  the  name  of 
all,  exclaimed,  "  Rather  would  J  kneel  to  receive  my  death-blow 
at  your  Majesty's  hand,  than  to  deny  my  God  and  his  Gospel." 

the  Emperor  having  repeated  his  demand,  by  a  deputation,  the 
same  evening,  the  Margrave  and  the  other  princes  repaired  the 
next  morning,  at  six  o'clock,  to  the  Emperor's  palace,  and  replied 
— "  We  will  not  sanction,  by  our  presence,  such  impious  human 
traditions,  utterly  opposed  as  they  are  to  the  word  of  God  and  the 
commands  of  Christ.  So  far  from  it — with  one  voice,  we  declare 
that  we  desire  to  see  these  doctrines  of  men  utterly  banished  horn 
the  Church,  and  the  yet  uncorrupted  members  of  the  body  of  Christ 
sheltered  from  this  mortal  poison.  Let  not  your  Majesty  be 
offended  if  I  decline  to  comply  with  your  Avishes,  for  it  is  Avritten 
that  it  is  better  to  obey  God  than  man.  Wherefore,  for  the  sake 
of  confessing  the  doctrine  which  I  know  to  be  the  voice  of  the 
Son  of  God,  immutable  and  eternal  truth,  I  am  ready  to  face  all 
dangers,  and  even  death  itself,  with  which,  as  I  hear,  those  are 
threatened  Avho  believe  in  this  wliolesome  doctrine." 

Glorious  courage  !  noble  renunciation  of  the  world  and  self ! — 
would  that  it  might  inspire  our  hearts  also  !  "  He  that  loveth  his 
life  shall  lose  it :  and  he  that  hateth  his  life  in  this  world  shall  keep 
it  unto  life  eternal." 

The  procession  took  place,  but  none  of  the  evangelical  princes 
engaged  in  it.  They  displayed  the  same  firmness  with  regard  to 
the  Gospel.  "  The  Word  of  God,"  they  said,  "  caiuiot  be  liound ; 
to  arrest  it — to  fetter  it,  would  be  a  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Besides,  being  only  poor  sinful  men,"  added  these  magnanimous 
princes,  "  we  need  the  preaching  of  this  divine  word  to  enlighten 
and  console  us.  We  cannot  do  without  the  daily  nourishment  of 
our  bodies — still  less  can  we  bear  to  be  deprived  of  the  word  of 
God  ;  '  for  man  doth  not  live  by  bread  only,  but  by  every  word 
that  proceedeth  out  of  the  mouth  of  God.'  "  Thereupon,  Charles 
the  Fifth  caused  a  herald  to  publish,  with  the  sound  of  a  trumpet, 
in  the  city  of  Augsburg,  that  no  clergyman  should  preach  there 
any  more,  unless  by  special  permission  from  the  Emperor.  There 
was  no  alternative  but  to  submit.  "  Thus,"  wrote  the  Elector  of 
Saxony  to  Luther,  "  our  Lord  God  is  commanded  to  be  silent  in 
the  imperial  Diet  of  Augsburg."  Happy  will  the  Church  be,  when, 
from'the  greatest  to  the  least,  all  shall  know  the  value  of  the  pure 
and  faithful  declaration  of  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Christ !  "  More 
to  be  desired  than  gold — yea,  than  much  fine  gold  :  sweeter  also 
than  honey  and  the  honey-comb." 

At  last,  the  Diet  was  formally  opened  on  the  20th  of  June.  The 
opening  address  iinveiled  the  hostile  designs  of  Charles.  It  was, 
as  it  were,  a  declaration  of  war.    Then  was  it  necessary  to  "  be 


84  CONFESSION  OF  THE  NAME  OF  CHRIST. 

strong  ill  the  Lord,  and  in  tlie  power  of  his  might — to  be  able  to 
withstand  in  the  evil  day,  and  having  done  all,  to  stand."  On 
leaving  the  assembly,  the  Elector  of  Saxony  invited  all  the  princes, 
his  brethren  in  the  faith,  to  assemble  at  his  hotel,  and  there  ex- 
horted them  to  stand  steadfast  in  a  cause  Avhich  was  that  of  God 
himself,  and  of  the  faith  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  The  next  day,  very 
early  in  the  morning,  he  dismissed  all  his  counsellors  and  ser- 
vants, and  this  pious  prince  passed  the  whole  day  in  iiis  chamber, 
drawing  courage  and  consolation  from  the  Psalms  of  David,  and 
supplicating  God  to  grant  him  His  assistance  and  His  grace  for 
the  glory  of  His  gospel. 

The  Protestants  obtained  permission  to  read  their  confession 
publicly  on  the  24th  of  June,  but  on  that  day  other  affairs  occu- 
pied ihe  Diet  too  long.  Their  confession  was  demanded  in  writ- 
ing. They  insisted  that  it  should  be  read  in  full  assembly.  The 
Emperor  acceded  to  their  wishes,  and  all  awaited  with  impatience 
the  following  day,  which,  to  all  appearance,  was  to  decide  the 
destiny  of  the  invincible  truth. 

In  the  meantime,  Luther,  at  Coburg,  took  to  himself  the  whole 
armor  of  God  ;  he  praised  God  without  ceasing — he  read  His  holy 
word,  and  was  filled  with  courage,  hope  and  joy.  Not  a  day 
passed  in  which  he  did  not  spend  at  least  three  hours  in  prayer. 
He  conversed  Avith  God,  his  servant  tells  i;s,  as  with  his  father. 
Once  he  was  overheard  praying  thus  in  his  chamber  :  "  I  know 
that  Thou  art  our  good  God  and  Father ;  therefore,  I  am  sure  that 
Thou  wilt  destroy  the  persecutors  of  Thy  children.  If  Thou  dost 
not,  the  danger  concerns  Thee  as  well  as  us.  The  whole  affair 
is  Thine  ;  we  have  done  but  what  we  ought  to  have  done  ;  and 
Thou,  oh,  kind  Father,  wilt  protect  us."  Had  I  been  in  the  place 
of  our  friends,"  said  he  to  this  same  faithful  servant,  "  I  would 
have  replied  to  our  adversaries,  '  If  your  Emperor  will  not  suffer 
the  empire  to  be  divided,  neither  will  our  Emperor  (the  Lord  Al- 
mighty) sixffer  the  name  of  God  to  be  blasphemed.  Glory,  then, 
if  you  will,  in  your  Emperor;  we,  too,  will  glory  in  ours.  We 
shall  see  who  will  remain  masters  of  the  field.' " 

The  wise,  and  gentle,  and  apprehensive  Melancthon,  at  Augs- 
burg, shared  not  the  assurance  of  Luther  ;  he  was  full  of  fears 
and  anguish.  His  friend,  Camerarius,  often  surprised  him  in 
tears.  Luther  endeavored  to  inspire  his  friends  with  the  same 
confidence  and  courage  that  nerved  his  own  soul.  In  writing  to 
Jonas,  from  his  desert  (for  thus  he  dated  all  his  letters  from  Co- 
burg), he  said :  "  It  is  philosophy  that  torments  Philip  (meaning 
Melancthon),  and  nothing  else  !  for  our  cause  is  in  the  hands  of 
Him  Avho  can  say,  Avith  the  power  of  majesty,  '  Neither  shall 
any  man  pluck  them  out  of  my  hand.'  There  I  desire  to  leave 
it.  I  have  had  many  affairs  in  my  own  hands,  and  have  lost 
them  all ;  but  all  those  that  I  have  confided  to  Him,  I  still  pos- 
sess securely  ;  for  truly  God  is  our  refuge  and  strength.  '  Who 
ever  trusted  in  Him,  and  was  confounded  ?'  So  Wisdom  speaks, 
and  elsewhere  says,  '  Thou,  Lord,  v/ilt  not  forsake  those  Avho  put 
their  trust  in  Thee.'    Let  us  defy  our  adversaries,  strong  in  the 


CONFESSION  OP  THE  NAME  OF  CHRIST.  85 

niiglit  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  for  since  He  lives,  '  we  siiall  live  also,' 
even  in  death ;  and  He  will  protect  and  bless  the  widows  and 
children  of  those  who  confess  Him  at  the  price  of  their  lives. 
Since  He  reigneth,  '  we  shall  also  reign  with  Him.'  Already  we 
have  begun  to  reign.  Oh !  if  I  were  summoned  to  Augsburg, 
how  quickly,  by  the  grace  of  God,  I  would  be  there  !  May  His 
presence  attend  thee  !" 

Still  later,  he  wrote  thus  to  Melancthon  :  "  Grace  and  peace  be 
given  you  in  Christ !  In  Christ,  I  say,  and  not  in  the  world. 
Amen.  Why  wilt  thou  thus  unceasingly  torment  thyself.'  If  our 
cause  is  not  good,  forsake  it ;  but  if  it  is,  why  will  we  make  God 
a  liar,  when  he  tells  us  to  be  tranquil  and  '  of  good  cheer  ?'  '  Cast 
thy  burden  upon  the  Lord,  and  He  shall  sustain  thee,'  are  His 
own  words  ;  and  again,  '  The  Lord  is  nigh  unto  them  tliat  are  of 
a  broken  heart.'  The  issue  of  these  events  torments  you,  because 
you  cannot  foresee  it.  But  I  tell  you  that  if  I  could  foresee  it,  I 
would  not  interfere  in  it — still  less  would  I  have  begun  it.  God 
has  placed  our  cause  in  a  place  which  you  will  find  neither  in 
your  philosophy  nor  in  your  rhetoric.  That  ])lace  is  called  Faith, 
and  there  are  found  all  those  things  which  we  can  neither  see 
nor  understand.  He  who  wishes  us  to  see  and  handle  things,  as 
you  do,  has  for  his  reward  only  tears  and  anguish  of  heart.  If 
Christ  is  not  with  us,  where  in  all  the  universe  will  you  find 
Him.'  If  we  are  not  the  Church,  where  then  is  the  Church?  Is 
it  the  Duke  (of  Bavaria),  Rome,  or  the  Turk  .'  If  we  have  not 
the  word  of  God,  who  has  it .'  And,  '  if  God  be  for  us,  who  can 
be  against  us  .''  If  we  fall,  Christ  falls  Avith  us,  and  Christ  is  the 
Sovereign  of  the  World.  He  has  said,  '  Be  of  good  cheer,  I  have 
overcome  the  ^vorld  ;'  and  I  know  that  it  certainly  is  so.  Why, 
then,  do  we  fear  the  conquered  Avorld,  as  if  it  were  the  conquer- 
or .'  Oh  !  precious  word  of  truth  !  One  would  go  to  seek  it  on 
one's  knees,  even  to  Rome  or  to  Jerusalem ;  and,  because  we 
have  it  and  may  use  it  any  moment,  we  lightly  esteem  it.  That  is 
wrong.  I  know  it  proceeds  from  the  weakness  of  our  faith.  Let 
us  pray,  then,  with  the  Apostles  :  '  Lord,  increase  our  faith.' 
'  Though  an  host  should  encamp  against  me,  my  heart  shall  not 
fear.'  '  No  weapon  that  is  formed  against  thee  shall  prosper — 
saith  the  Lord.'  " 

At  length  arrived  the  memorable  25th  of  June,  1530 — that  day 
of  triumph  for  the  Church.  At  three  o'clock  in  the  aftewioon, 
three  centuries  ago,  all  the  electors  and  representatives  of  the 
empire  repaired  to  the  palace  where  the  Emperor  lodged,  in  the 
chapel  of  which  the  Confession  was  to  be  read,  in  order  to  avoid 
the  concourse  of  the  people.  The  Emperor  commanded  that 
none  but  the  princes  and  representatives  should  be  present,  but, 
notwithstanding  his  orders,  the  palace-court  was  soon  filled  to 
overflowing.  The  two  chancellors  of  the  Elector  of  Saxony, 
strengthened  by  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  outstretched  to  bless  and 
protect  them,  advanced  into  the  centre  of  the  chapel,  bearhig 
duplicates  of  the  Confession,  one  in  Latin  and  the  other  in  German. 
The  Elector  represented  tliat,  as  they  were  in  Germany,  he  hoped 


8D  CONFESSION  OF  THE  NAME  OF  CHRIST, 

his  Majesty  would  grant  permission  to  read  the  Confession  in  the 
language  of  the  country.  The  Emperor  consented.  One  of  the 
Chancellors  then  pronounced  a  short  discourse  in  the  name  of 
the  Protestants ;  and,  at  its  close,  the  other  began  to  read  the 
Confession.  This  he  did  in  so  loud  and  distinct  a  voice  that  not 
a  word  of  it  was  lost  by  the  immense  crowd  in  the  i:)alace-yard. 
The  reading  lasted  two  hours.  Heard  amidst  the  deepest  silence, 
it  produced  a  most  powerful  effect.  No  one  had  expected  to 
hear  such  words  as  then  met  their  ears.  We  cannot  now  repeat 
them  to  you,  my  dear  friends ;  there  are  one  or  two  principal 
points,  however,  among  them,  which  claim  especial  attention  in 
our  day,  when  so  many  have  lost  all  recollection  of  what  that 
faith  is  Avhich  was  "  once  delivered  to  the  saints." 

"  We  confess  and  teach,"  said  the  evangelical  princes  of  Ger- 
many, in  the  presence  of  this  assembly  of  kings,  who  listened  to 
them  attentively,  "  that  there  is  one  God,  and  in  this  single  and 
same  divine  Being,  three  persons,  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son, 
and  God  the  Holy  Spirit,  a  divine  and  eternal  essence,  infinite  in 
wisdom,  goodness,  and  power,  the  Creator  and  Preserver  of  all 
things  visible  and  invisible. 

"We  confess  and  teach,  that,  since  the  fall  of  Adam,  all  men 
are  born  in  sin — that  is,  from  their  birth,  they  are  filled  with  evil 
desu'es  and  inclinations,  and  can  have,  by  nature,  no  true  piety, 
no  true  love  of  God,  no  true  faith  in  God.  We  maintain  that  this 
inbred  sin  is  an  actual  sin  in  them,  and  certainly  condemns,  and 
consigns  to  eternal  death,  those  who  are  not  born  of  water  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

"  We  confess  and  teach  that  God  the  Son  became  man  ;  that  he 
closely  united  the  two  natures,  human  and  divine,  in  one  person, 
which  is  Christ — very  God,  and  very  man — and  who,  being  truly 
born,  crucified,  dead,  and  buried,  was  a  sacrifice,  not  only  for  the 
inbred  sin  of  man,  but  also  for  all  other  sins,  and  thus  satisfied 
divine  justice. 

"  We  confess  and  teach  that  this  same  Christ,  having  descend- 
ed into  hell,  on  the  third  day  arose  from  the  dead,  ascended  into 
Heaven,  and  sat  down  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  where  He  ever 
lives  and  reigns  over  all  creatures  ;  that  he  sanciifies,  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  all  who  believe  in  Him — that  He  purifies,  strengthens,  and 
consoles  them ;  gives  them  life,  and  all  manner  of  graces  and 
blessmgs,  and  protects  and  defends  them  against  sin  and  the  devil. 

"  We  confess  and  teach,  that  men  being  born  in  sin,  not  obey- 
ing the  law  of  God,  and  being  incapable  by  nature  of  loving  God, 
we  cannot  merit  the  pardon  of  our  sins  by  our  works  or  by  any 
satisfaction,  and  are  not  justified  before  God  on  account  of  our 
works,  but  are  justified  for  Christ's  sake  by  grace,  through  faith, 
when  our  conscience  is  appeased  by  the  promise  of  Christ,  and 
believes  that  remission  of  sins  is  truly  given  unto  us  ;  that  God  is 
favorable  to  us,  and  gives  us  eternal  life,  for  the  sake  of  His  Son, 
who  reconciled  God  unto  us  by  his  death. 

"  We  confess  and  teach  that  such  faith  must  bring  forth  good 
fruits,  and  produce  good  works ;  that  we  ought  to  do  all  the  good 


CONFESSION  OF  THE  NAME  OF  CHRIST.  87 

works  which  God  has  commanded  from  love  to  God,  without, 
however,  trusting  on  them  for  justification,  for  when  we  have 
done  all  things,  we  still  must  say,  '  We  are  unprofitable  ser- 
vants.' " 

"  This,"  added  the  Chancellor  of  Saxony,  before  proceeding  to 
the  enumeration  of  the  abuses  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  "  this  is 
the  summary  of  the  doctrine  preached  in  our  churches,  for  in- 
struction and  consolation,  as  well  as  for  the  sanctification  of  be- 
lievers." 

After  having  finished  this  memorable  reading,  the  electoral 
chancellor  went  forward  to  place  the  two  copies  in  the  hands  of 
the  imperial  secretaiy.  But  the  Emperor,  who  had  not  once  lost 
sight  of  them,  extended  his  own  hand,  and  received  them.  The 
Protestant  representatives  then  returned  thanks  to  Charles,  to 
King  Ferdinand,  and  all  the  other  princes,  for  the  attention  with 
Avhich  they  had  listened  to  their  memorial. 

A  solemn  act  was  terminated.  The  adversaries,  and  even  seve- 
ral of  the  bishops,  were  struck  with  the  admirable  exposition  of 
the  Christian  faith  which  they  had  just  heard  ;  and  who  knows 
but  that  the  impression  which  it  made  on  Charles  may  have  been 
revived  in  the  convent  of  St.  Just,  and  surroimded  his  dying  bed 
with  imspeakable  consolations  .'  Copies  of  the  Confession  were 
immediately  sent  to  all  the  Courts  of  Europe,  and  thus  a  know- 
ledge of  the  evangelical  faith  and  the  seeds  of  divine  truth  were 
scattered  abroad  even  to  the  most  distant  lands. 

As  for  the  heroes  of  the  faith  who  had  so  boldly  confessed 
Christ  and  Him  crucified,  from  this  hour  a  new  sentiment  animat- 
ed them,  a  new  feeling  filled  their  hearts.  They  had  confessed 
Christ  before  men,  and  felt  happy  in  the  blessed  assurance  that 
He  would  "  confess  them  before  His  Father  who  is  in  Heaven." 
"  The  S]iirit  of  glory  and  of  God"  rested  upon  them.  They  had 
conquered — they  had  put  to  flight  all  the  hosts  of  the  enemy  ;  an 
everlasting  joy  was  upon  their  heads.  From  that  day,  the  destiny 
of  the  evangelical  Church  was  secured,  and  the  Lord  proclaimed 
over  it  anew,  "  The  gates  of  hell  shall  never  prevail  against 
thee." 

Such  was  the  confession  of  the  name  of  Christ  in  the  sixteenth 
century.  Shall  not  this  glorious  name  be  confessed  in  the  nine- 
teenth with  the  same  boldness  and  fidelity  .>  Oh,  my  dear  hearers, 
shall  the  adversaries  of  Jesus,  who  could  not  prevail  in  that  day, 
triumph  over  us  noAV,  while  Christians  remain  silent .'  This  same 
voice  of  the  son  of  God  which  the  heroes  of  the  faith  heard,  when, 
three  centuries  ago,  they  carried  ofl^  the  palm  of  faithfulness  and 
victory,  speaks  still  in  our  day  to  His  people,  and  proclaims, 
"  Whosoever  shall  confess  me  before  men,  him  will  I  also  confess 
before  my  Father  who  is  in  Heaven." 

But  can  all  now  confess  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ .'  In  order  to 
confess  Him,  we  must  know  Him,  and  all  know  Him  not.  Tlie  day 
which  we  commemorate  presents  to  us  an  assembly  in  \\-hich 
were  two  entirely  distinct  classes  of  men;  and  Jesus,  in  the  dis- 
course from  which  our  text  is  taken,  declares  to  us  that  there  are 


88  CONFESSION  OP  THE  NAME  OF  CHRIST. 

those  who  confess  and  those  who  deny  Him.  A  grand  distinc- 
tion, a  wide  separation  exists  then  between  men.  This  is  the 
first  lesson  to  be  learned  from  the  pictnre  placed  before  our  eyes 
to-day.  This  separation  which  existed  in  the  times  of  the  Apos- 
tles, existed  also  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  when  on  one  side 
we  see  those  who  made  this  noble  profession  of  the  truth,  and,  on 
the  other,  those  who  wished  to  crush  it — and  it  exists  still.  We 
would  not  dwell  now  on  the  distinction  established  by  varied 
forms  of  discipline  and  worship,  for  God  is  no  respecter  of  per- 
sons ;  but  on  that  which  is  found  in  all  nations  and  in  every  de- 
nomination, between  those  who  reject  the  immutable  truth  ^vhich 
the  Apostles  and  Reformers  professed.  It  is  an  axiom  universally 
recognized,  and  proclaimed  by  every  philosopher,  that,  as  there 
is  good  and  evil,  so  there  must  be  good  and  evil  men,  the  just  and 
the  unjust,  saints  and  sinners ;  or,  as  the  Scriptures  emphatically 
express  it,  "  the  children  of  God,  and  the  children  of  the  devil." 

Christianity  does  but  separate  these  two  classes  moi-e  widely, 
while  declaring  that  they  actually  exist  before  God,  and  will  re- 
ceive their  reward.  Him  that  confesseth  me,  I  "will  confess — and 
him  that  denieth  me,  I  will  deny.  And  what  saith  the  Saviour  of 
the  world,  who  is  the  truth,  as  to  the  relative  number  of  each  of 
the  classes,  which  the  word  of  God  and  the  day  we  celebrate 
present  to  us :  "Enter  ye  in  at  the  strait  gate,  for  wide  is  the 
gate  and  broad  is  the  way  that  leadeth  to  destruction,  and  many 
there  be  that  go  in  thereat :  because  strait  is  the  gate  and  narrow 
is  the  way  ^vhich  leadeth  unto  life,  and  few  there  be  that  find  it." 
These  words  were  true  three  centuries  ago  at  Augsburg,  and  they 
are  yet  true  over  all  the  earth.  So,  then,  if  there  is  now,  as  in  the 
times  of  the  Ajjostles  and  Reformers,  a  doctrine  rejected  by  the 
world,  by  the  lovers  of  the  riches,  honors,  and  pleasures  of  this 
life,  a  doctrine  which  the  many  refuse  to  embrace,  which  is  con- 
sidered a  strange  thing,  and  is  abandoned  to  a  despised  few,  it  is 
a  strong  presumptive  proof  that  this  doctrine  is  the  truth.  And  if 
there  is  a  mode  of  life  which  is  considered  too  strict,  too  severe, 
which  cannot  be  assimilated  to  the  customs  and  tastes  of  the  mul- 
titude, but  is  ridiculed  and  given  up  to  a  iew,  it  is  probable  evi- 
dence that  it  is  the  true  one.  And  if  there  is  a  Christianity  against 
which  all  take  up  arms,  Avhich  is  rejected  by  all  who  are  wise  in 
their  own  eyes,  and  seek  glory  from  men,  and  not  that  which 
cometh  from  God  only,  it  would  be  reasonable  to  conclude  that 
this  was  the  gospel. 

If  I  go  with  the  multitude,  if  I  think  as  everybody  thinks,  if  1 
do  as  all  do — well  may  I  tremble  !  for  those  are  proofs  that  I  am 
in  the  broad  way  which  leadeth  to  destruction. 

"  There  are  few  that  be  saved,"  says  one  prophet;  "  One  of  a 
city,  and  two  of  a  family,"  says  another.  Oh,  my  soul !  thou  art 
with  God,  or  thou  art  far  away  from  Him  !  Thou  art  converted, 
or  thou  art  not !  Thou  dost  either  confess  Christ,  or  deny  Him  ! 
One  of  these  two  sides  thou  hast  taken,  and  which  is  it  ?  Art 
thou  in  the  narrow  path  of  life  ?  or  art  thou  in  the  broad  way  to 
perdition .'    Oh,  my  soul !  this  is  worth  consideration.    Examine 


CONFESSION  OF  THE  NAME  OF  CHRIST.  89 

ihyself ;  prove  thyself;  seek,  and  ascertain  clearly  what  thou  art. 
"  Examine  yourselves,  whether  ye  be  in  the  faith." 

Dear  hearer  !  you,  whose  conscience  witnesses,  this  hour,  that 
you  do  not  confess  Christ — you  do  not  know  Him — you  are  still 
in  the  broad  way — why  will  you  not  now  be  saved  .'  Why  will 
you  not  this  day  be  transported  into  the  path  of  life,  where  the 
"  fellow  citizens  of  the  saints"  and  confessors  of  Jesus  Christ  are 
found .'  One  thing  alone  iirevents  you,  and  that  we  declare  to 
you  ;  it  is  your  want  of  faith  in  the  powerful,  the  life-giving  name 
of  Jesus.  So  long  as  you  do  not  believe  in  this  name  by  which 
alone  there  is  salvation,  your  sins  separate  between  you  and  God, 
and  it  is  impossible  for  you  to  confess  a  name  which  has  no  glory 
in  your  eyes.  But  believe  the  word  ;  this  is  what  it  tells  you  (and 
in  comparison  with  its  teachings  all  else  is  darkness  and  error), 
"  Christ  who  is  the  brightness  of  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  express 
image  of  his  person,  and  upholding  all  things  by  the  word  of  his 
power,  when  He  had  by  Himself  purged  our  sins,  sat  down  on  the 
right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high."  Understand  well  what  the 
word  of  God  here  declares  to  you.  Christ  has,  not  by  an  angel, 
or  by  any  of  the  heavenly  intelligences  which  He  created,  but  by 
Himself,  purged  the  sins  of  all  who  believe  in  Him ;  which  is  to 
say,  He  was  purified,  redeemed,  and  delivered  them  from  their 
sins,  as  effectually  as  if  they  had  never  committed  any.  At  the 
moment  when  Christ  expired  on  the  cross,  being  "  made  sin"  for 
all,  all  the  sins  of  his  people,  of  every  age  and  every  nation,  were 
blotted  out.  What !  could  you  believe  that  the  Lord  Christ  him- 
self took  the  trouble  to  purify  His  people  from  their  sins,  and  that 
there  still  remains  something  in  them  which  defiles  and  hinders 
them  from  seeing  God  ?  To  use  an  illustration  Avithin  the  reach 
of  all — if  a  mother  has  bathed  her  child  hi  pure  water,  and  has 
said  to  him,  "Go,  now,  you  are  clean," her  child  believes  her  and 
goes  to  his  play;  Irut  if,  to  assure  himself  that  it  is  so,  he  should 
go  to  behold  his  natural  face  in  a  glass,  according  to  an  expres- 
sion of  Scripture,  he  would  be  insulting  his  mother,  by  thus  ad- 
mitting the  possibility  that  she  could  sjieak  falsely.  Well !  Christ 
himself,  Jehovah,  Jesus,  says  to  the  believer,  "  Go,  thou  art  made 
clean — I  have  purged  thy  sins  by  myself,  I  liave  made  an  end  of 
all  transgression ;  he  that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath  everlasting 
life."  And  we  will  not  believe  this  eternal  word  of  truth  !  we 
would  make  our  Lord  a  liar  !  Oh,  my  dear  brother  !  do  you  truly 
believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Saviour — do  you  believe  it  in  your  heart, 
and  confess  it  with  your  mouth  ?  Then  do  I  declare  to  you  from 
the  everlasting  gospel :  "  You  are  clean."  All  your  sins  are  for- 
given. You  have  found  grace  in  the  sight  of  God.  "  There  is  no 
more  condemnation"  for  you,  says  St.  Paul.  "  You,  who  in  limes 
past  were  not  a  people,  are  now  the  people  of  God  ;  you,  which 
had  not  obtained  mercy,  have  now  obtained  mercy."  Listen, 
then,  to  the  voice  of  the  Lord.  He  summons  you  to  quit  the  stand- 
ard of  error,  that  you  may  range  yourself  under  that  of  truth.  Go 
forth  from  the  camp  of  His  adversaries,  and  enter  into  that  of  His 
children  and  friends.    Unite  yourself  to  the  holy  band  of  His  pro. 


90  CONFESSION  OF  THE  NAME  OF  CHRIST. 

phets  and  apostles — to  those  illustrious  princes  and  doctors,  who, 
in  the  days  we  celebrate,  confessed  His  name  so  nobly.  There  is 
not  one  of  you  who  cannot  do  it,  and  that,  too,  this  moment;  the 
door  is  0]3en,  wide  open,  for  all.  Oh,  why  will  you  prefer  the 
sullied  and  j)erishing  banners  of  injustice  and  unbelief  to  the  pure 
and  immortal  standard  of  Christ?  Behold,  "the  fashion  of  this 
world  passeth  away ;"  already  its  grandeur  is  fading,  and  soon 
will  be  no  more.  What  will  then  remain  to  you  ?  "  Wherefore, 
come  out  from  amojig  them,  and  be  ye  separate,  saith  the  Lord, 
and  touch  not  the  unclean  thing ;  and  I  will  receive  you,  and  will 
be  a  Father  unto  you,  and  ye  shall  be  my  sons  and  daughters, 
saith  the  Lord  Almighty." 

But,  if  you  have  ever  known  Christ,  my  beloved  brethren,  if 
you  have  enlisted  in  the  army  of  the  living  God,  what  lessons 
the  events  of  this  day  teach  you  !  Soldiers  of  Christ !  who  fight 
under  His  eternal  banner — all  ye  who  know  the  Saviour — children 
of  God — strangers,  as  the  Apostle  calls  you,  scattered  throughout 
the  world !  listen  to  the  words  of  a  poor,  despised  Man,  who  had 
not  where  to  lay  His  head,  but  whom  you  will  soon  recognize, 
by  the  majestic  authority  of  His  language,  as  your  Lord  and  your 
God  !  "  Whoever  shall  confess  me  before  men,  him  will  I  also 
confess  before  my  Father  which  is  in  Heaven." 

The  confession  of  the  name  of  Christ  is,  perhaps,  still  more 
necessary  and  more  difficult  in  our  time  than  it  was  in  that  of  the 
Reformers.  There  was  then  but  one  adversary,  fanaticism,  or 
superstition;  but  God,  who  willeth  that  all  the  enemies  of  His 
Church  shall  manifest  themselves,  that  it  may  gain  over  them  all 
a  brilliant  victory,  has  permitted  a  new  and  not  less  formidable 
adversary  to  spring  forth  from  the  age  succeeding  that  glorious 
period  :  materialism  or  infidelity.  Its  deadly  atmosphere  is  widely 
diffused,  over  the  lowly  as  well  as  the  lofty  places  of  the  earth, 
in  the  institutions  of  learning,  in  the  workshop  of  industry, 
abroad  in  the  country,  at  home  in  the  fire-side  circle  ;  it  has 
mingled  its  poison  with  the  very  springs  from  which  the  people 
have  been  accustomed  to  draw  refreshment  and  life.  Satan  dis- 
plays in  our  day  the  whole  of  his  imposing  army.  With  fanati- 
cism as  leader  of  his  left  wing,  and  scepticism  of  his  right,  he 
aims  at  full  victory  over  the  high  places  of  the  earth,  and  the 
establishment  of  an  undisputed  empire.  Who  shall  withstand 
him  but  you,  scattered  children  of  God,  who  have  this  promise 
from  the  Captain  of  your  salvation,  "  The  God  of  peace  shall 
bruise  Satan  under  your  feet  shortly."  Therefore,  we  summon 
you,  on  this  anniversary  of  a  great  victory,  to  one  more  glorious 
still.  "  Be  of  good  courage,"  we  say  to  you,  as  did  the  leader  of 
the  armies  of  Israel  on  the  eve  of  a  battle  with  the  children  of 
Ammon,  "  and  let  lis  play  the  men  for  our  people,  and  for  the 
cities  of  our  God;  and  the  Lord  do  that  which  seemeth  Him 
good." 

"  Does  not  all  that  is  passing  around  you  tend  to  animate  your 
courage  ?  What  if  the  enemy  of  God  does  multiply  his  forces, 
so  long  as  Christ,  the  Head  of  His  Church,  the  Captain  of  your 


CONFESSION  OP  THE  NAME  OF  CHRIST.  91. 

salvation,  lifts  up  still  higher  his  standard  against  them  ?  The 
soldiers  of  the  adversary  fill  the  air  with  cries  of  extermination, 
but  the  masses  which  they  had  heaped  up  to  crush  Him  against 
whom  they  wage  war,  recoil  upon  their  own  heads,  and  "  the 
Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah"  crouches  down  in  triumph  over  their 
ruins.  Have  you  not  countries  under  your  own  eyes,  in  which, 
a  few  years  ago,  no  single  tongue  confessed  the  name  of  Jesus, 
now  filled  with  His  glory  ?  "  There  shall  be  an  handful  of  corn 
in  the  earth  upon  the  top  of  the  mountains ;  The  fruit  thereof 
shall  shake  like  Lebanon,  and  they  of  the  city  shall  flourish  like 
grass  of  the  earth." 

The  distant  isles  of  the  ocean  are  awaking,  and  stretch  out 
their  hands  to  you  :  there  is  a  sound  of  life  throughout  the  whole 
earth,  as  of  some  one  collecting  his  hosts,  and  marshalling  them 
for  the  battle. 

"  Lord,  in  thy  power's  triumphal  day, 

Thy  willing  people  shall  obey  ; 
And  when  thy  rising  beams  they  view, 

Shall  all  (redeemed  from  error's  night), 

Appear  more  numerous  and  bright, 
Than  crystal  drops  of  morning  dew." 

Content,  then,  oh  children  of  God  !  by  confessing  the  name  of 
Jesus.  Oh,  brothers,  well  beloved  !  after  having  been  saved  by 
the  Lord  Jesus,  it  is  our  duty,  as  well  as  our  highest  joy  and 
greatest  glory,  to  be  faithful  to  Him  and  to  confess  Him  openly  be- 
fore all  men.  Doubtless,  you  are  not  called  to  so  solemn  a  con- 
fession as  that  which  we  celebrate  to-day ;  it  is  not  to  a  pitched 
battle  that  the  trumpet  summons  you  ;  but  each  one  of  you  is  to 
confess  the  Lord,  in  the  peculiar  circumstances  amidst  which 
God  has  placed  him.  There  is  an  essential  difference  between  the 
two  periods  that  we  are  contemplating.  At  the  time  of  the  Re- 
formation, a  few  great  names  seemed  to  fill  the  whole  field  of 
battle ;  but,  in  our  day,  the  armies  of  the  living  God  have  no 
earthly  commanders ;  names  are  lost  in  a  happy  obscurity.  One 
Captain  alone  appears  at  our  head — and  he  is  Christ.  Oh,  my 
brethren  !  realize  the  responsibility  which  this  imposes  on  you. 
You  cannot  now  rely  on  a  few  illustrious  leaders  ;  every  one  must 
fight  at  his  post,  as  if  on  him  alone  depended  the  victory.  It  is 
not  perhaps  by  great  battles,  but  by  a  thousand  private  combats, 
that  the  King  of  Zion  purposes  to  establish  His  kingdom.  To  the 
handsof  eachof  you  he  commits  a  portion  of  its  destiny.  "God  hath 
chosen  the  weak  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  things  which 
are  mighty  ;  and  base  things  of  the  world,  and  things  which  are  de- 
spised, hath  God  chosen,  yea,  and  things  which  are  not,  to  bring  to 
naught  things  that  are,  that  no  flesh  should  glory  in  His  presence." 
If  God  has  placed  you  among  cottages,  confess  Him  among  cottages. 
If  He  has  placed  you  in  the  dwellings  of  the  rich  of  this  world,  con- 
fess Him  in  the  midst  of  abundance  and  prosperity.  If  He  has  placed 
you  in  tlie  sanctuary,  lift  up  your  voice  there  fearlessly.  If  He 
has  s'lven  to  vou  the  seat  of  the  jiiightv,  confess  Him  even  upon 


92  CONFESSION  OF  THK  NAME  OF  CHRIST. 

the  steps  of  the  throne,  as  did  in  those  days  the  princes  of  the 
earth  within  the  palaces  of  kings.  Suffer  no  oj^portunity  to  escape 
you  of  faithfully  confessing  Christ  in  the  heart  of  your  family, 
in  your  daily  life  and  conversation.  "  Sanctify  the  Lord  God  in 
your  hearts ;  and  be  ready  always  to  give  an  answer  to  every 
man  that  asketh  you  a  reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in  you,  with 
meekness  and  fear."  This  is  all  that  Christ  asks  of  yon,  as  one 
of  his  soldiers  ;  this  is  your  armor  for  the  gloriovis  combat.  His 
name  alone,  without  any  human  help,  gains  the  most  noble  vic- 
tories; His  name  alone  overturns  the  empire  of  darkness,  and 
scatters  afar  the  powers  of  evil.  "  God  hath  given  Him  a  name 
that  is  above  every  name  ;  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee 
should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven  and  things  in  earth,  and  things 
under  the  earth." 

Disciples  of  Christ !  the  truths  by  which  you  are  to  gam  the  vic- 
tory over  the  world,  and  bring  many  captive  souls  to  God  the 
Saviour,  are  the  same  that  the  Apostles  confessed,  the  same  that 
the  Reformers  and  illustrious  princes  confessed  so  courageously 
three  centuries  ago.  Men  change,  but  "  Jesus  Christ  is  the  same 
yesterday,  to-day  and  for  ever."  The  Christ  whom  Paul,  Peter, 
and  John  confessed,  the  Christ  whom  Luther,  Calvin,  and  Beza 
confessed,  is  He  whom  you  are  to  confess.  Say,  as  they  did, 
"  We  are  sinners,  and  in  ourselves  condemned."  Say,  as  they  did, 
"  We  are  saved  by  grace  alone,  by  Christ  through  faith."  Say, 
■with  them,  "  Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the 
kingdom  of  God."  Bear  witness  with  simplicity  and  gentleness 
to  all  the  truths  contained  in  the  Word  of  God,  for  it  is  the  testi- 
mony of  God  himself.  This  is  confessing  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  not 
a  doctrine  of  yesterday — it  is  an  eternal  truth  which  you  confess. 
Human  doctrines  have  been  ever  changing,  and  scarcely  any  two 
of  those  floating  around  you  are  consistent  with  each  other ;  but 
the  truth  of  God  is  unalterable.  You  must  expect  that  the  Christ 
whom  you  confess  will  be  still,  as  in  ages  past,  to  the  world  "an 
unknown  God."  Some  around  you  will  say,  "  These  are  old 
superannuated  doctrines;"  others,  "  These  are  strange  novelties." 
Yes,  it  is  an  ever  ancient  truth  which  you  proclaim,  for  it  existed 
in  the  council  of  God  before  the  creation  of  the  world.  And  yet 
it  is  a  truth  ever  new,  for  each  time  that  it  is  manifested  to  the 
heart  of  the  sinner,  he  begins  to  see  things  of  which  he  had  no 
conception  before.  Do  not  allow  yourselves  to  be  hindered  by 
vain  clamors  such  as  these.  Ever  old,  yet  ever  new,  twice  already 
has  this  same  truth  saved  and  renewed  the  world  :  it  has  proved 
itself,  if  I  may  so  speak.  Let  us  stand  firm :  a  third  time  it  will 
save  it,  and  I  hope  for  ever.  "  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth, 
and  that  He  shall  stand  at  the  latter  day  upon  the  earth." 

Forward,  then,  soldiers  of  the  God  of  armies,  and  fight  fearless- 
ly !  In  our  day,  we  must  have  resolution,  strength,  devotedness, 
and  entire  self-renunciation  ;  for,  if  the  weapons  which  the  world 
uses  are  more  delicate  and  subtle  than  in  the  times  of  the  Apos- 
tles and  Reformers,  they  are  so  much  the  more  formidable.  The 
coldness  and  ^contempt  of  those  who  surround  us,  sometimes 


CONFESSION  OF  THE  NAME  OF  CHRIST.  93 

even  onr  dearest  friends,  consume  the  heart  with  a  keener  an- 
guish than  that  inflicted  by  the  flames  of  martyrdom  ;  and  human 
opinion,  the  fear  or  the  love  of  the  world,  has  made  more  infidels 
than  the  sword  of  the  executioner. 

Be  strong,  then,  and  steadfast,  fixing  your  eyes  on  the  certain 
triumph  of  the  Lord's  cause.  Tlie  leader  whom  you  follow  has 
already  conquered  all  His  enemies — "  He  has  spoiled  principali- 
ties and  powers,  and  made  a  show  of  them  openly,  triumphing 
over  them,  in  the  cross."  The  conversion  and  subjection  of  the 
whole  world  to  Him  is  the  subject  of  promise.  "  Yet  have  I  set 
my  King  itpon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion.  I  will  declare  the  decree : 
the  Lord  hath  said  unto  me.  Thou  art  my  Son ;  this  day  have  I 
begotten  thee.  Ask  of  me,  and  I  shall  give  thee  the  heathen  for 
thme  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  thy  pos- 
session." Already  the  King  of  the  Universe  is  preparing  all  things 
for  the  accomplishment  of  this  promise.  Already  do  the  Gentiles 
seek  the  root  of  Jesse,  which  shall  stand  for  an  ensign  to  the  peo- 
ple. Already  does  the  Lord  "  set  His  hand  again  the  second  time 
to  recover  the  remnant  of  his  people"  Israel.  Already,  in  the  bo- 
som of  our  fallen  churches,  the  Lord  Jehovah  is  everywhere 
forming  for  Himself  a  "  willing  people,"  and  the  "  Bright  and 
Morning  Star"  is  rising  to  cast  its  holy  beams  over  the  earth  long 
wearied  of  the  dark  and  fearful  night.  Soldiers  of  Christ !  fight, 
then,  the  fight  of  faith  with  cheerful  courage,  knowing  that  the 
work  in  Avhich  you  are  engaged  is  God's  own,  and  that  He  has 
prepared  a  full  and  glorious  triumph  as  its  consummation  before 
the  foundations  of  the  world.  Let  your  hearts  be  filled  with  holy 
zeal.  Be  vigorous  and  energetic,  "  for  God  hath  not  'given  us 
the  spirit  of  fear,  but  of  power ;"  and  "  he  that  overcorneth  shall 
inherit  all  things,  saith  the  Lord  ;  but  the  fearful  and  unbelieving 
shall  have  their  part  in  the  lake  which  burneth  with  fire  and  brim- 
stone :  which  is  the  second  death."  Believe,  and  hope,  if  need 
be,  even  against  hope ;  it  is  by  faith  that  we  obtain  promises, 
subdue  kingdoms,  or  stop  the  mouths  of  lions. 

Nevertheless,  beloved  friends,  remember  that  the  combat  to 
which  you  are  called  is  that  of  eternal  charity.  It  is  not  by  bitter 
zeal  that  you  can  promote  the  interests  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 
What  is  the  object  you  have  in  view  .'  Is  it  that  yon  may  be  in- 
struments in  God's  hands  for  saving  souls  ?  And  how  can  you 
save  souls,  if  you  do  not  love  them  ?  Remember  how  Christ, 
your  leader,  walked  on  earth,  in  whose  footsteps  you  are  to  fol- 
low. He  walked  in  love,  and  it  is  by  love  that  he  overcame  the 
world  and  saved  His  people.  "  When  he  saw  the  multitudes" 
about  Him,  "  He  was  moved  with  compassion  on  them,  because 
they  fainted,  and  were  scattered  abroad  as  sheep  having  no  shep- 
herd." He  "  went  about  doing  good."  Oh,  if  we  had  more  love 
in  our  hearts,  what  noble  victories  we  should  gain  over  the  prince 
of  the  world !  How  many  souls  would  be  saved  from  death  ! 
Let  us,  then,  oh,  my  brethren,  love  souls  as  Jesus  loved  them  ! 
Let  his  spirit  be  our  impulse  and  example.  Never  may  we  cry, 
"  peace,  peace,  where  there  is  no  peace :"  but  let  us  beware,  also, 


94  CONFESSION  OF  THE  NAME  OF  CHRIST. 

of  all  narrowness  of  mind — of  all  bitterness,  contention,  domineer- 
ing, and  condemnation  of  others.  Let  us  beware  of  trusting  to 
ourselves  ;  but  let  us  abound  in  confidence  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  who 
is  love.  Let  truth  be,  as  it  were,  the  body  of  the  aihleta  of  Christ, 
and  charity  his  garment ;  for  God  hath  not  given  us  the  spirit  of 
fear,  but  of  love. 

And,  finally,  let  us  remember,  in  our  confession  of  the  name  of 
Christ,  that  the  war  which  we  wage  is  that  of  sovereign  wisdom. 
It  is  not  by  precipitancy,  or  natural  zeal,  that  we  can  advance  the 
Lord's  kingdom,  as  "  novices"  may  fancy,  "  being  lifted  up  with 
pride,"  and  therefore,  says  the  Apostle,  they  may  not  bear  the 
office  of  bishop  in  the  Church  of  Christ.  What  an  example  of  wis- 
dom our  illustrious  predecessors  of  three  centuries  past,  have 
given  us.  Let  us  distrust  ourselves.  Whenever  we  go  forward 
in  our  own  strength,  our  own  zeal,  or  our  own  wisdom,  we  injure 
the  cause  of  Christ.  Before  taking  the  first  step,  always  ask 
counsel  of  God.  Be  willing  to  wait,  for  this  is  a  lesson  which 
every  servant  of  God  must  learn.  Have  a  sound  judgment  in  all 
things ;  and  endeavor  to  choose  always  the  noblest  end,  and 
the  most  prudent  and  proper  means  for  attaining  it.  "  Let  us 
not  fall  into  the  condemnation  of  the  devil"  (or  calumniator).  Let 
us  have  "  the  "wisdom  that  is  from  above,"  which  is  not  "  earthly, 
sensual,  devilish,"  but  "  is  first  pure,  then  peaceable,  gentle,  and 
easy  to  be  entreated,  full  of  mercy  and  good  fruits,  without  par- 
tiality and  without  hypocrisy  ;"  for  again,  as  says  the  Apostle  of 
the  GentUes,  "  God  hath  not  given  us  the  spirit  of  fear,  but  of  a 
sound  mind." 

Ministers  of  the  word  of  God !  you  who  are,  in  the  strongest  sense, 
my  brethren,  to  you  and  to  myself  1  would  first  of  all  address  the 
word  of  exhortation.  May  we  be  found  faithful  in  this  combat 
of  eternal  love,  to  which  we  are  called  !  Oh,  my  brethren !  let  us 
pray,  much  for  ourselves,  and  much  for  one  another.  Let  us  be 
girt  about  wiih  truth  and  charity.  Let  us  "  hold  fast  the  form  of 
sound  words,"  which  Ave  have  heard.  Let  us  proclaim  fearlessly 
the  Divine  testimony,  declaring  the  whole  counsel  of  God  with 
clearness  and  fidelity  ;.  "  for,"  saith  the  Scripture,  "  if  the  trumpet 
give  an  uncertain  sound,  who  shall  prepare  himself  to  the  bat- 
tle .'"  Watchmen  of  Zion  !  let  us  blow  the  trumpet  when  we  see 
the  sword  coming,  that  the  people  may  be  warned,  and  that  the 
sword  take  not  away  their  life. 

Pastors  of  the  Lord's  flock  !  let  us  lead  them  to  feed  on  the 
plant  of  renown  which  has  been  raised  up  for  them,  that  they  be 
no  more  consumed  with  hunger  in  the  land.  "  Let  us  reprove, 
rebuke,  exhort  with  all  long-suffering  and  doctrine,"  for,  in  doing 
this,  we  shall  save  both  ourselves  and  them  that  hear  us. 

Elders  of  our  churches !  all  you,  who  are  called  to  labor  with 
us — and  you,  earth's  mighty  ones !  follow  the  example  of  these 
illustrious  princes  whose  fidelity  and  glory  have  been  this  day  re- 
called to  you.  Learn  from  them  that  the  doctrine  of  the  truth  is 
not  the  exclusive  property  of  the  ministers  of  the  sanctuary,  but 
that  it  belongs  to  you  as  well  as  to  them,  and  that  you,  as  we, 


CONFESSION  OF  THE  NAME  OF  CHRIST.  95 

are  called  to  be  its  defenders.     "  Be  not  (ye),  therefore,  ashamed 
of  the  testimony  of  our  Lord,"  but  confess  Him,  as  did  this  as- 
semblage of  princes,  before  the  world.      And,  as  they  were  th( 
strong  support  of  the  ministers  of  the  Word,  grant  us  also,  ■ 
every  occasion,  your  love,  your  sympathy,  and  your  prayers, 
one  in  defence  of  the  doctrine  of  the  truths  which  God  has  e. 
trusted  to  our  churches.      Value  the  gift  of  a  faithful  minister  at 
a  very  precious  privilege.     "We  beseech  you,  brethren,"  says  St. 
Paul,  "  to  know  them  which  labor  among  you,  and  are  over  you 
in  the  Lord,  and  admonish  you,  and  to  esteem  them  very  highly  in 
love,  for  their  works'  sake.     And  be  at  peace  among  yourselves." 

And  ye  all,  disciples  of  Christ,  of  every  age,  sex,  and  condition, 
walk  worthy  of  the  vocation  wherewith  ye  are  called  !  Confess 
Christ  in  your  words,  with  all  humility  and  modesty  ;  but,  above 
all,  confess  Him  in  your  life.  Comfort  the  feeble-minded,  sup- 
port the  weak,  be  patient  toward  all  men.  If  thine  enemy  hun- 
ger, feed  him ;  if  he  thirst,  give  him  drink.  Ever  follow  that 
which  is  good,  both  among  yourselves  and  to  all  men.  Rejoice 
evermore,  showing  forth  thus  the  praises  of  Him  who  hath  called 
you  out  of  darkness  into  His  marvellous  light;  and  let  your  light 
so  shine  before  men,  that  they  may  see  your  good  works,  and 
glorify  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven 

The  day  shall  come  Avhen  the  Lord's  promise  to  you  shall  be 
gloriously  fulfilled.  He  will  come,  with  all  His  holy  angels,  and 
then  will  He  say  unto  you,  "  Come,  my  brother,  my  sister,  fear 
not;  thou  hast  confessed  me  (on  earth)  before  men,  now  will  I 
confess  thee  before  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.  Oh,  my  Fa- 
ther !  he  is  mine — I  have  redeemed  him — he  is  my  friend,  my 
brother.  He  has  made  a  covenant  with  me  by  sacrifice.  He  has 
confessed  me  amidst  the  scorn  of  the  world ;  now  do  I  confess 
him  before  Thy  glory.  Give  unto  him  a  white  stone,  and  write 
upon  him  the  name  of  my  God.  Ye  everlasting  doors,  give  way  ! 
Enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord  !" 


c 

is  X 

and 

fear 


CI 

T 


CHRISTIAIITY 


CARRIED   TO   THE 


NATIONS  OF  THE   EARTH, 


THE  DUTY  OF  CHRISTIAN  NATIONS. 


TRANSLATED  BY  M.  M.  BACKUS. 


TO  THE  COMMITTEE 

or  THE 

AUXILIARY  SOCIETY  OF  BRUSSELS 
iFor  tl)e  IJropagatiott  of.  Cljristianila  in  tl)e  Itno  5nbus. 

THE  AUTHOR, 
Brussels,  March,  1830. 


A  MANUSCRIPT  copy  of  this  discourse  falling  into  the  hands  of  a 
friend  of  missions  in  Holland,  he  translated  it  by  the  author's  con- 
sent, and  published  it  in  the  Dutch  language.*  The  author  did 
not  at  that  time  think  of  publishing  it  in  French.  The  work  that 
it  recommends  having  been  established  in  a  more  regular  manner 
at  Brussels,  by  the  formation  of  a  Society  for  the  propagation  of 
Christianity  in  the  two  Indies,  auxiliary  to  the  two  Evangelical 
Missionary  Societies,  established,  the  one  at  the  Hague,  the  other 
at  Rotterdam,  the  author  thought  that  this  discourse  might  per- 
haps contribute  to  enlighten  the  friends  of  Christianity  and  of 
humanity,  concerning  the  end  proposed  by  the  new  Society  ;  and 
it  is  consequently  published  in  the  language  in  which  it  was  pro- 
nounced. That  the  Lord  may  make  use  of  it,  whether  in  our  own 
or  foreign  countries,  to  kindle  the  zeal  of  some  in  favor  of  the  best 
work  which  man  can  undertake,  is  the  wish  and  prayer  of  his 
heart.  The  facts  alluded  to  in  this  discourse,  are  drawn  from  the 
most  authentic  sources ;  many  have  been  extracted  from  the  Let- 
ters upon  India,  by  the  missionary  Ward,  which  have  recently  been 
translated  into  French.  Some  passages  in  this  sermon  were  not 
pronounced  in  the  pulpit,  for  fear  of  occupying  a  longer  time  than 
is  i;sually  accorded  to  the  preacher. 

*  Het  Nut  van  Evangelisehe  Zendelingen  ouder  de  Heidenen,  en  onze  Vh-pligt- 
ing  om  deselve  he  Bevorderen,  in  octavo,  Amsterdam,  by  Saaks,  1828,  and 
more  recently  in  12mo.  by  the  same  pubUsher,  under  the  title  of  PrediJct  bet 
Evangelium  alien  Creaturen. 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 


A  DISCOURSE  DELIVERED  AT  BRUSSELS. 


"  And  Jesus  said  unto  them  :  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the 
Gospel  to  every  creature." — Mark  xvi.  15. 

The  work  of  publishing  the  Gospel  among  all  the  families  of  the 
earth,  is  the  greatest  and  most  glorious  work  which  has  ever  been 
or  ever  will  be  undertaken.  While  many  deep  shadows  still  ob- 
scure the  tableau  of  Christian  society,  and  while  the  reign  of  self- 
isliness  is  still  far  from  being  over  among  men,  yet  we  must 
acknowledge  that  the  jiresent  i^  distinguished  for  its  love  of  pub- 
lic good  and  for  its  humanity.  Numerous  as.sociations  have  been 
formed  in  different  countries,  for  oljjects  of  general  utility.  But 
all  the  associations,  all  the  enterprises  of  the  age,  are  but  trifles  in 
comparison  with  tlie  magnificent  undertaking  of  carrying  the 
Gospel  to  every  creature.  The  friend  of  humanity,  before  engaging 
in  this,  can  make  but  feeble  efforts  ;  but  when  he  enters  upon  this 
chief  work,  he  pays  the  debt  he  owes  to  his  species,  and  has  the 
glory  of  bearing  in  his  hand  one  of  the  stones  destined  to  raise  the 
temple  of  the  living  God  in  the  world. 

Is  there  anything  called  great  among  men,  which  the  work  of 
publishing  the  Gospel  to  every  creature  does  not  infinitely  sur- 
pass .'  Is  it  an  association  intended  to  release  some  unhappy 
beings  who  are  pining  away  in  dungeons,  or  under  the  pressure 
of  some  other  misery  ?  That  were  a  great  work  ;  but  the  work  of 
which  I  speak  announces  to  a  cajotive  world  the  opening  of  the 
prison  mid  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning.  Is  it  a  conquest,  having  for 
its  end  the  deliverance  of  a  people  from  the  oppressors  who  deso- 
late them,  and  their  restoration  to  their  legitimate  sovereign? 
This  were  indeed  a  noble  task  ;  but  the  work  of  which  I  speak  is  in- 
tent on  conquering  a//  tJie  nations  of  the  earth  to  their  true  and  eter- 
nal King.  Is  it  the  giving  to  a  whole  people  a  legislation  which 
will  establish  it  in  peace  and  iirosjierity  .'  But  the  work  of  which 
I  speak  bears  to  all  nations  the  charter  of  the  human  race,  the 
fundamental  law  of  its  happiness,  a  celestial  legislation  which 
alone  can  give  them  righteousness  and  peace.  The  work  of  Evangelical 
Missions  is  the  most  stupendous  of  all  the  works  of  benevolence 
in  which  men  can  engage,  for  it  embraces  the  whole  world  ;  it  is 
the  noblest,  for  the  benefit  which  it  confers  is,  of  all  those  which  ' 
man  can  bear  to  man,  the  most  in  harmony  with  the  immortal  na- 
ture of  which  our  bodies  are  but  the  mortal  tabernacles ;  the  most 


102  CHRISTIANITY  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 

generous,  since  those  to  whom  we  send  svich  gifts  are  unknown 
to  us,  differing  from  us  in  manners,  in  color,  in  language ;  who 
can  never  testify  their  gratitude  in  person,  whom  we  shall  never 
see  but  iDefore  the  eternal  throne,  whither  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel  may  have  brought  them.  Why  does  this  restless  age, 
which  is  so  busy  in  a  thousand  different  ways,  take  so  small  a 
part  in  this  labor  of  love  ?  Why,  when  they  lavish  money  in  so 
many  useless  expenses,  do  they  reserve  nothing  to  assist  those 
who  would  carry  to  Pagan  nations  the  salvation  of  the  world  ? 
Some  object  that  this  work  is  not  necessary ;  we  will  reply  by 
showing  the  magnitude  of  the  evil.  Others  pretend  that  they  do 
not  know  what  remedy  to  apply  to  so  great  misery ;  we  will  pre- 
sent to  them  the  means,  ordained  of  God  from  the  beginning  of 
time.  Others -again  object  that  they  have  no  hope  of  success  in 
this  work  ;  and  we  will  show  them  the  stcccess  with  which  it  has 
already  been  crowned. 

The  Saviour,  when  he  pronounced  the  words  of  our  text,  was 
standing  on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  after  his  resurrection  from  the 
dead.  Beneath  him  was  the  earth  which  he  had  saved  ;  aroimd 
him  his  weeping  disciples,  above  him  heaven  and  its  glory,  of 
which  he  was  about  to  take  possession  in  the  name  of  his  re- 
deemed. At  this  solemn  moment,  the  last  he  was  to  spend  on 
earth,  he  embraced,  in  the  glance  of  his  love,  the  world  and  the 
millions  of  people  and  generations  whose  eternal  chains  he  had 
come  to  break,  and  giving  to  his  disciples  his  last  will,  he  estab- 
lished them  perpetual  executors  of  his  love :  "  Go  ye  into  all  the 
world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature  .'" 

Lord !  grant  us  hearts  attentive  and  obedient  to  thy  Word,  to 
meditate  upon  its  holy  obligations  !    Amen, 


And  first,  some  say :  "  It  is  not  necessary  to  send  missionaries 
to  Christian  nations  ;  they  are  as  well  off  as  we  are,  and  are  like- 
wise just  as  happy.  Would  to  God  we  had  their  imiocence,  their 
sweet  and  gentle  manners  !" 

It  is  not  necessary!  It  is  impossible  that  it  is  a  Christian  who 
utters  these  words.  Judge  of  this :  the  population  of  our  earth  is 
estimated  at  about  ten  hundred  millions,  of  whom  only  two  hun- 
dred millions  are  Christians ;  one  hundred  millions  are  Mahomet- 
ans ;  and  nearly  seven  hundred  millions  are  Pagans.  Thus,  every 
thirty  years,  eight  hundred  millions  of  souls,  immortal  as  our  own, 
leave  the  earth  without  having  known  the  true  God,  He  who  has 
said:  1  am  the  lutij,  the  truth,  and  the  life;  no  man  cometh  unto  the 
Father  but  by  ?«e.  Thirty  years  again  roll  round,  and  eight  Intndred 
millions  more  have  followed  the  former  to  the  grave — and  thus 
generations  on  generations,  millions  descend  sadly  to  the  sepul- 
chre, in  the  midst  of  a  dark  and  lamentable  night.  What  truly 
Christian  soul,  after  this  solemn  reflection,  can  inquire :  "  Is  it 
^accessary .'" 

But  the  state  of  the  unchristianized  world  is  such,  that  the 
friend  of  humanity,  whateA^er  may  be  l^is  faith,  ought  to  be  the 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS.  103 

friend  of  the  work  which  I  commend.  Everywhere,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  Christianity,  the  earth  is  filled  with  barbarism,  with  io-no- 
rance,  with  horrid  superstitions;  for  Christianity  is  not  only' the 
salvation  of  individual  souls,  it  is  also  the  strength  and  prosperity 
of  nations.  Among  all  these  nations,  is  there  one  of  which  a 
false  philosophy  would  undertake  the  defence  .'  Do  they  speak 
to  us,  for  example,  of  China  ?  We  will  reply  by  showing  them 
nine  thousand  children  annually  exposed,  in  the  capital  of  this 
empire,  to  the  most  sorrowful  death.  Would  they  exalt  Islam- 
ism,  which  unites  the  belief  in  the  unity  of  God  and  the  immor- 
tality of  the  soul,  which  they  imagine  sufficient  for  man  ?  We 
will  show  Islamism  extended  like  a  corpse,  for  several  centuries,  over 
the  finest  regions  of  the  earth,  changing,  by  its  impure  breath, 
these  countries  to  a  desert,  and  starting  from  its  slumber  only  to 
scatter  furiously  around  it  fire  and  sword,  and  to  spill  in  torrents 
the  ancient  and  generous  blood  of  the  defenders  of  the  Cross. 

No,  my  brethren,  mild  and  simple  manners  are  not  found  among 
Pagans ! 

Let  us  make  the  tour  of  the  world,  and  see  what  is  the  condi- 
tion of  the  people  among  whom  the  evangelical  missionaries 
labor,  in  whose  behalf  we  to-day  implore  your  alms  and  prayers. 
Do  not  fail  to  discover  the  horrors  which  appeal  to  your  charity. 

What  do  we  behold,  if,  leaving  Europe,  we  first  pass  along  the 
western  shores  of  Africa,  from  whence  are  transported,  with  all 
their  superstitions  and  terrors,  those  poor  West  Indian  slaves,  to 
whom  our  missionaries  bear  the  law  of  true  liberty  .'  We  shall 
see  negro  kings  celebrating  cruel  feasts,  whicii  they  crown  by  the 
massacre  of  their  prisoners  of  war  and  of  their  own  subjects.  '  A 
king  dies  atAkim:  they  break  the  limbs  of  three  hundred  and 
thirty-six  of  the  females  of  his  harem,  then  bury  them  alive.  Do 
ambassadors  desire  an  audience  of  these  kings .'  they  must  ap- 
proach the  throne  by  filing  across  long  rows  of  still  reeking  hu- 
man heads  ;  such  is  their  method  of  displaying  their  magnificence, 
and  of  making  their  glory  to  shine  forth.  A  king  dies  in  the 
kingdom  of  Ashantee,  on  the  Gold  Coast:  his  orams,  or  servants, 
to  the  nimiber  of  one  hundred,  are  immolated  on  his  tomb,  and  a 
great  number  of  his  wives  submit  to  the  same  fate.  The  reign- 
ing khig  has  recently  lost  his  mother,  and  he  testifies  his  fitial 
grief  and  mourning  by  three  thousand  human  sacrifices,  to  which 
each  of  the  large  towns  are  obliged  to  contribute  a  hundred  vic- 
tims, and  the  smaller  ones  ten ;  and,  in  these  unhappy  countries, 
the  manners  of  the  subjects  are  always  in  keeping  with  the  man- 
ners of  their  rulers  !  The  Bushmen,  of  South  Africa,  live  only  by 
murder  and  robbery,  and  deliver  themselves  to  the  commission 
of  the  most  horrible  crimes.  There,  the  mother,  the  tender  mo- 
ther herself,  forgets  her  child,  and,  like  the  beast,  forsakes  it.  In 
moving  about  from  place  to  place,  these  people  frequently  aban- 
don, in  the  desert  which  they  quit,  their  aged  parents  and  rela- 
tions: placing  near  them  a  little  food  and  some  shells  filled  with 
water,  they  salute  them — and  soon  these  unhappy  beings  die  of 
hunger,  or  become  the  prey  of  ferocious  beasts.      I  would  ask 


104  CHRISTIANITY  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 

yoii  now,  my  brethren,  is  it  necessary  to  go  to  the  assistance  of  be- 
ings like  ourselves,  who  cover  with  horror  this  earth,  which  is 
our  common  patrimony  ? 

But  leaving  Africa,  let  us  visit  those  countries  of  Asia  in  which 
some  of  our  missionaries  are  found.  What  a  spectacle  is  offered 
to  us  in  India,  the  mother  of  civilisation,  as  she  is  frequently  called  ! 
What  ideas  have  its  inhabitants  of  the  living  and  true  God  ?  We 
see  them  bowing  down  before  three  hundred  and  thirty  millions 
of  idols.  In  the^multitude  of  this  army  of  idols,  they  know  not 
in  whom  they  ought  to  trust,  whom  they  should  obey.  They  kneel 
now  before  monkeys,  and  now  before  serpents,  and  again  before 
vain  shadows.  Soon  they  fall  down  before  the  wives  and  daugh- 
ters of  their  cruel  and  licentious  priests,  adoring  them  with  abomi- 
nable ceremonies,  not  fit  to  be  described  by  a  Christian  tongue. 
Finally,  when  they  have  nothing  else,  they  make  divinities  of  their 
holy  books,  and  prostrate  themselves  before  their  vedas  and  their 
shasters ;  "  Everything  is  a  God  for  them,  but  God  himself!" 
Wretched  people  !  your  gods  are  monsters,  your  priests  seducers, 
your  holy  writings  codes  of  indecency,  of  fraud,  of  vengeance,  of 
murder,  your  heaven  itself  an  infamous  house  of  prostitution  ! 

And  how  do  they  wash  away  their  sins  .'  At  the  close  of  the 
day,  numerous  bands  precipitate  themselves  into  the  river  Ganges, 
persuaded  that  its  waves  will  purify  from  all  evil ;  while  others, 
to  obtain  the  pardon  of  their  sins,  occupy  themselves  day  and 
night  for  years,  in  repeating  the  names  of  their  protecting  deities. 
But  in  the  midst  of  all  these  useless  names,  there  is  not  heard 
THAT  ONLY  NAME  giveu  Under  heaven  whereby  men  can  he  saved  ! 

But  perhaps  tlae  domestic  sanctuary  will  offer  more  inviting 
scenes  to  our  hearts  ?  No,  and  this  is  a  solemn  truth  :  the  domes- 
tic circle,  which  gives  to  life  all  its  charms,  does  not  exist  aside 
from  Christianity.  Mahometans,  Pagans,  are  alike  ignorant  of  it; 
and  the  most  unnatural  sentiments  supply  its  place.  Full  one 
half  of  the  human  race,  that  which  God  created  to  be  a  compa- 
nion of  man,  is  degraded  to  the  condition  of  slaves,  and  even  lower 
still. 

Among  many  of  those  nations,  the  birth  of  a  daughter  is  a  fam- 
ily misfortune.  Among  one  of  the  tribes  of  India,  the  Rajapoos, 
girls  are  put  to  death  by  their  fathers  soon  after  their  birth.  On 
one  occasion,  a  father,  less  barbarous  than  his  fellows,  could  not 
resolve  to  destroy  his  tender  infant ;  he  hid  her  in  a  house,  \\diere 
she  grew  up  until  the  age  of  ten  or  twelve  years,  which  is  usually 
that  of  marriage.  At  length,  on  a  festival  day,  he  brought  her  forth. 
But  the  sight  of  a  girl  was  a  sight  so  strange  in  the  house  of  a 
Rajapoo,  that  no  father  would  take  the  unhappy  child  as  a  wife 
for  his  son.  The  distracted  father,  pursued,  terrified  by  the  threats 
of  his  friends,  and  by  the  shame  which  oppressed  his  house,  fell 
mto  despair,  and  beside  himself,  he  went  mad,  and  raising  his 
hand  against  his  young  and  innocent  daughter,  he  destroyed 
her. 

But  if  in  other  tribes  life  is  allovi^ed  to  the  young  females,  their 
fate  is  still  no  better:  they  drag  out  their  early  years  in  the  most 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS.  105 

languishing  idleness,  in  the  most  barbarous  ignorance.  Disqi\iet- 
ed  by  the  most  abject  superstitions,  they  frequently  wander  forth 
on  the  longest  pilgrimages.  One  day,  sixteen  young  girls,  with 
as  many  priests,  embarked  on  the  Ganges.  Each  of  the  victims 
bore  a  vase,  fastened  to  her  shoulder.  Soon,  leaning  upon  the 
hand  of  one  of  these  cruel  pontiffs,  they  cast  themselves  one  after 
the  other  into  the  river,  and  floated,  until  the  vases  filling  with 
water,  plunged  and  kept  them  firm  beneath  the  rolling  flood  ! 
They  believed  they  had  taken  the  direct  road  to  heaven;  the 
priests  gloated  over  the  frightful  spectacle ;  the  multitudes  on  the 
shore  shouted  forth  their  plaudits,  and  not  a  single  eye  wept  for 
the  wretched  victims  !  Oh  Thou,  who,  in  ascending  Golgotha, 
wept  over  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem,  Thou  at  least,  beholdest  from 
thy  seat  in  heaven  these  frightful  miseries,  and  anew  Thou  sound- 
est in  our  ears  the  words,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach 
the  Gospel  to  every  creature." 

But  let  us  consider  a  little  further  the  lives  of  this  half  of  the 
human  race,  the  most  interesting  because  the  most  dependant. 
Does  a  Hindoo  die,  a  funeral  pile  is  erected  to  consume  his  body ; 
his  widow  is  dragged  thither  bound  ;  her  eldest  son  approaches 
to  kindle  it  with  a  parricidal  hand  !  Sometimes  these  unhap^jy 
women  break  their  bands,  escape  from  the  burning  scaffold,  and 
cast  themselves  into  the  river,  to  extinguish  their  funeral  garment 
already  in  flames  :  but  the  barbarous  priests  bring  them  back,  and 
the  child  replenishes  the  fire  which  is  to  consume  her  upon 
whose  breast  he  has  been  borne  ! 

Are  there  some  castes  who  bury  their  dead,  in  place  of  burning 
them  ?  The  fate  of  these  victims  is  still  more  frightful !  The  widow 
is  conducted  with  great  ceremonies  to  the  tomb,  and  seated  in 
the  trench,  holding  the  body  of  her  husband  in  her  arms  !  The 
relatives  and  children  begin  to  throw  slowly  upon  her  the  earth 
which  is  to  cover  her;  she  remains  immoveable;  the  earth  is 
gradually  heaped  up  around  her  body ;  soon  it  reaches  her  waist 
and  neck,  her  lips;  suddenly  they  cast  a  great  heap  upon  her 
head — the  earth  chokes  her — her  children  rush  upon  her  and 
tread  her  under  their  feet,  and  the  poor  mother  soon  breathes  her 
last  !* 

See,  my  brethren,  what  is  still  occurring  ;  in  the  single  provuice 
of  Bengal  two  hundred  widows  annually  suffer  this  dreadful  fate. 
Mothers  and  daughters  of  Christian  Europe  !  do  you  not  hear  the 
cries  of  your  sisters  issuing  from  the  llames,  and  the  stifled  sighs 
uttered  by  these  living  corpses  from  the  depths  of  tlieir  tombs  ? 

If  such  is  the  fate  of  the  wives,  what  is  that  which  they  fre- 
quently cause  their  children  to  experience  .'  Alas  !  the  spirit  of 
darkness  in  these  unhappy  regions  exercises  his  empire  over  all 

•  The  English  government  has  at  length  enacted  a  law  against  these  sacri- 
fices, but  it  can  be  enforced  only  in  that  part  of  Bengal  where  there  are 
English  troops.  In  ihe  rennainder  of  India,  especially  in  the  provinces 
submitting  to  tributary  princes,  the  propagation  of  Christianity  alone  can 
abolish  the  abominable  superstition. 


106  CHRISTIANITY  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 

sexes,  all  ages,  all  estates.  A  mother  has  perhaps  consecrated, 
even  before  its  birth,  her  child  to  some  cruel  divinity ;  when  it 
has  attained  its  third  year  she  leads  it  to  the  border  of  the  river, 
and  exciting  it  by  her  gestures  to  enter,  in  order  to  bathe  its  deli- 
cate limbs,  she  leads  it  by  the  hand,  until  reaching  a  certain 
depth,  the  river  washes  and  bears  it  away.  Then,  seating  her- 
self upon  the  bank,  the  mother  listens  to  its  plaintive  cries,  and 
contemplates  its  last  struggles  with  death.  Others  cast  theijr 
iiafants  to  ferocious  crocodiles,  and  look  on  with  astonishment 
as  these  river  monsters  dispute  their  prey  until  one  of  them  has 
swallowed  it  up  !  Children,  poor  little  children  !  you  to  whom 
the  Saviour  of  the  world  has  said  with  so  much  tenderness,  Suf- 
fer them  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  tJiem  not,  for  of  such  is  the  king- 
dom of  heaven:  you  whom  he  took  in  his  arms  and  blessed,  plac- 
ing his  sacred  hands  upon  your  head,  this  is  not  the  fate  reserved 
for  you  by  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ ! 

And  what  is  the  destiny  of  the  old  man  ?  As  the  end  of  his 
days  approach,  he  is  dragged  to  the  banks  of  the  Ganges,  or 
some  other  sacred  river.  They  constrain  him  to  drink  abundantly 
of  its  purifying  water ;  they  cover  his  breast,  his  forehead,  his 
arms,  with  the  slime  of  the  river,  they  fill  with  it  his  mouth,  his 
eyes,  and  his  ears,  and  before  his  soul  has  left  his  body,  they  cast 
it  into  the  homicidal  waters.  So  dies  the  old  idolator.  How 
different  from  the  death  of  that  Simeon,  who  desired  to  depart  in 
peace,  since  his  eyes  had  seen  the  salvation  of  God  ! 

In  what  manner  do  these  people  adore  their  horrible  divinities  ? 
Let  us  come  and  assist  at  the  annual  festival  of  Muha  Deo  (the 
great  god).  Here,  some,  after  plunging  iron  hooks  into  their  loins — 
cause  themselves  to  be  swung  in  the  air,  by  means  of  cords 
attached  to  high  see-saws ;  there,  others  run  upon  points  of  sharp 
iron,  and  give  themselves  mortal  wounds  with  a  knife,  and  all 
end  the  festival  by  dancing  with  naked  feet  on  burning  coals ! 
Or,  come  to  the  festival  of  Juggernaut :  while  a  great  number  of 
worshippers  with  difficulty  drag  along  the  immense  car  of  the 
horrible  idol,  multitudes  cast  themselves  in  the  road  over  which 
the  murderous  car  is  to  pass,  and  being  crushed  by  its  heavy 
wheels ;  sacrifice  their  lives  in  the  midst  of  dreadful  torments  ! 
Word  of  the  Lord  !  resound  throughout  those  distant  countries, 
and  say  to  those  unhappy  nations:  God  is  a  spirit,  and  those  that 
worship  hun,  mast  ivorship  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth  ! 

But  let  us  approach  the  vast  Archipelago  of  Lower  India,  to 
which  our  missionaries  are  especially  destined  !  Alas  !  we  shall 
but  encounter  the  same  spectacle,  stained,  perhaps,  with  still  more 
barbarism  and  ferocity.  The  god  adored  by  a  large  portion  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Java,  is  the  crocodile.  The  neighboring  islanders 
regard  it  as  their  father,  and  the  stem  of  their  species.  In  the 
Moluccas  the  inhabitants  appear  to  recognize  a  superior  divinity, 
but  instead  of  serving  him,  they  worship  the  devil.  Their 
manners  are  grossly  corrupt;  adultery  and  debauchery  are  not  re- 
garded as  sins ;   idle,  false,  treacherous,  liars,  abandoned  to  all 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS.  107 

vices,  they  are  terrible  wlien  offended,  and  revenge  themselves 
only  by  murder. 

In  the  Island  of  Borneo,  whose  immense  extent  we  possess, 
while  possessing  but  a  slight  knowledge  of  it,  there  are  found 
tribes  in  Avhich  no  man  can  marry  w'ithoat  having  committed  two 
or  three  assassinations.  These  islanders  place  themselves  at  the 
sides  of  the  highways,  covering  themselves  with  branches,  skil- 
fully disposed,  and  remaining  as  motionless  as  if  fastened  by  deep 
roots  in  the  earth  ;  the  victhn  who  thinks  he  sees  only  a  grateful 
shade,  approaches  without  distrust,  and  at  the  instant  he  passes 
by,  these  murderous  trees  spring  up,  cast  themselves  upon  their 
prey  and  destroy  him  .' 

In  the  mountains  of  Java  are  cannibals,  who  ascribe  a  princii)le 
of  love,  as  they  say,  to  horrors  which  human  language  can 
scarcely  relate.  Is  one  of  their  friends  sick  ?  They  call  a 
soothsayer.  Does  he  announce  death  .'  They  kill  the  sick  man: 
coolly  cut  his  body  in  pieces  ;  then  the  relatives  divide  it  among 
themselves,  and  devour  this  tiesh! 

Oh,  horrible  scenes  presented  by  the  idolatrous  world  !  oh, 
darkness,  which  covers  the  people,  upon  whom  the  Star  in  the 
East  has  not  yet  arisen  !  Hoav  lovely  thou  art,  religion  of  Jesus, 
and  how  our  affrighted  eyes  have  need  of  repose  in  thy  mild 
light !  What,  evangelical  Christians!  Do  you  think  that  it  is  not 
necessary  ?  that  it  is  not  your  duty  to  come,  each  according  to  your 
means,  to  the  relief  of  so  much  misery  .'  Is  this  a  stateof  inno- 
cence ?  Are  these  siveet  and  gentle  manners  ?  Is  not  the  evil  suffi- 
ciently great,  or  shall  it  become  still  worse  before  our  charity  can 
move  .'  Are  better  days  never  to  rise  upon  the  earth .'  Must 
darkness,  superstition,  cruelty,  brutishness,  despair,  continue  to 
cover,  from  age  to  age,  the  greatest  part  of  the  globe  Ave  in- 
habit ?  It  is  easy,  in  the  midst  of  all  the  charities,  of  all  the  tran- 
quillities of  life,  to  say  :  it  is  not  necessary.  But,  do  you  not  hear  the 
voice  of  these  victims  which,  from  those  distant  regions,  resounds 
even  to  you  ?  If  you  send  away  this  voice  without  listening  to  it, 
I  declare  lo  you,  that  it  will  go  to  accuse  you  before  the  throne  of 
God  !  Yes,  all  these  nations,  who  arc  sitting  in  the  horrors  of 
superstition,  with  their  horrible  attendants,  arise  and  present  them- 
selves before  you,  as  that  man  of  Macedonia,  Avho  appeared  in  a 
dream  to  Paul  at  Troas  ;  and,  surrounded  by  all  their  griefs,  they 
beg  you,  they  address  to  yon,  as  did  that  Macedonian,  the  urgent 
prayer  :  Come  over  and  help  us. 

THE    MEANS. 

"  It  is  true,"  perhaps  you  may  now  say,  my  dear  hearers  ;  "  the 
wants  of  these  people  are  i)ressing,  but  what  remedy  can  be  offer- 
ed to  so  great  misery  ?  What  means  in  our  possession  sufficient- 
ly powerful  to  cliange  the  state  of  nations,  and  the  face  of  the 
earth  ?" 

Yes,  the  evil  is  great,  but  the  remedy  is  gi"eater  still.  The  evil 
has  arisen  from  the  power  of  darkness,  who  lias  involved  our  race 
in  his  rebellion  j   but  the  remedy  emanates  from  the  sovereign 


108  CHRISTIANITY  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 

God,  who  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth.  It  is  not  man  who 
comes  to  the  help  of  man  ;  it  is  God  who  advances  into  this  arena, 
wherein  such  terrible  battles  are  to  take  place.  You  are  right, 
all  the  philosophy  of  man  could  effect  nothing.  Socrates  and 
Plato,  with  their  admirable  reason,  and  by  the  poAver  of  their  elo- 
quence, have  not  converted  a  single  village  from  its  vain  idols 
to  the  God  whom  they  knew.  He  who  causes  herbs,  for  the  heal- 
ing of  our  bodies,  to  spring  up  in  the  ifields,  cannot  forget  the 
malady  of  our  immortal  souls. 

The  preaching  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  among  all 
NATIONS,  preceded,  accompanied  and  followed  by  those  things, 
which  it  usually  draws  with  it,  the  foimding  of  numerous  schools, 
the  propagation  of  evangelical  knowledge,  light  and  virtues,  the 
introduction  of  a  peaceful,  active,  social — in  a  word,  of  a  Chris- 
tian domestic  life  ;  such  are  the  means  that  God  has  proposed, 
and  for  the  execution  of  which  He  has  given  to  the  world  a  Sa- 
viour ;  He  has  planted,  as  the  Scriptures  express  it,  on  eitker  side 
of  the  river  of  human  generations,  a  tree  of  hfe,  ichose  leaves  are  for 
the  healing  of  the  7\ations. 

It  is  many  ages  since  God  began  to  dispose  everything  for  the 
accomplishment  of  this  work.  He  has  gone  before  us,  if  we  may 
so  express  ourselves,  and  nations  no  longer  exist,  until  he  has  al- 
ready with  a  wise  hand  laid  deei^  the  foundations  of  their  salva- 
tion. 

About  tAvo  thousand  years  before  the  great  epoch,  which  in  giv- 
ing a  Redeemer  to  man,  has  made  all  things  new  here  below,  the 
sciences  and  arts  began  to  spring  up  among  the  peoj^le,  ideas  be- 
came more  distinct,  and  they  began  to  classify  them  under  certain 
heads  ;  each  nation  was  occupied  in  cultivating  the  wisdom,  the 
industry  that  Providence  seemed  to  have  assigned  for  its  part. 
The  sciences  appear  to  have  found  in  Egypt  and  Babylon  the  soil 
favorable  to  their  development :  the  arts  in  Greece  ;  commerce  in 
Phenicia.  The  knowledge  of  God  reclaimed  his  peoisle.  It  was 
necessary  that  religion  which,  infinitely  more  than  anything  else, 
contributes  to  the  welfare  of  man,  should  have  a  proper  soil  in 
which  to  deposit  its  seeds,  in  which  it  might  increase,  and  in  time 
might  spread  its  branches  over  the  face  of  the  earth.  What  it  thus 
required  was  granted  it.  God  chose  and  called  from  among  the 
nations  a  man  named  Abraham  to  be  the  father  of  the  people  from 
whom  should  one  day  spring  the  founder  of  his  everlasting  king- 
dom. In  thee  shall  all  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed.  Such  was 
the  motive  of  the  alliance  formed  with  the  son  of  Terah.  Isaac, 
Israel,  the  twelve  patriarchs,  succeeded  Abraham.  The  Israelites 
became  a  powerful  nation,  but  neither  Abraham  nor  Israel  thought 
of  encompassing  the  whole  earth,  nor  of  converting  the  families  of 
the  earth.  It  was  not  then  for  immediate  action  that  God  called 
Abraham ;  he  must  have  had  in  view  some  future  institution, 
which  preparing  itself  in  silence,  should,  at  the  appointed 
time,  pour  out  upon  the  nations  the  greatness  of  its  benefits.  Gra- 
dually there  was  found  in  the  distant  future,  an  image  at  first  in- 
distinct, upon  which  the  eyes  of  the  Patriarchs  were  fastened  with 
respect,  to  which  each  passing  century  added  some  new  feature. 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS.  109 

which  promised  to  humanity  a  mysterious  benefactor  charged 
with  fulfillino-  the  promises  of  eternal  love.  Jacob  on  his  death- 
bed had  a  glimpse  of  it,  and  saluting  it  by  the  name  of  Shiloh,  ex- 
plained that  unto  him  should  the  gathering  of  the  people  be  ! 

David,  seizing  his  sacred  harji,  begins  with  a  song  of  grief.  He 
sees  a  just  one  persecuted.  He  speaks  even  of  the  crucifixion.  His 
garments  are  parted  among  his  enemies.  They  cast  lots  upon  his 
vesture.  But  he  ends  in  a  voice  of  praise  and  glory,  annoimcing 
a  reign  in  which  all  the  ends  of  the  world,  all  the  hundreds  of 
the  nations,  shall  turn  unto  the  Lord,  and  shall  worship  before  him 
whose  ineffable  griefs  he  beheld.  Isaiah,  at  the  very  period  when. 
the  ten  tribes  were  already  led  away  into  captivity,  when  the  glory 
of  Judah  was  darkened,  when  her  ruin,  the  destruction  of  the  city 
and  of  the  temple,  her  exile,  her  dispersion  and  her  great  shame, 
were  already  prepared,  announced  to  her  the  most  brilliant  desti- 
nies :  he  saw  in  the  future  the  tender  plant  clothed  in  a  dignity 
altogether  new;  the  Lord  gave  him  for  a  light  to  the  gentiles, 
to  he  his  salvation  unto  the  end  of  the  earth  !  Arise,  he  exclaimed 
to  the  people  oi  Godi,  for  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee. 

Daniel,  in  the  bosom  of  the  court  of  Babylon,  saw,  in  the  future, 
the  fall  of  all  the  power  and  splendor  which  surrounded  him,  and 
discovered  four  kingdoms  which  should  succeed  it,  and  then  give 
place  to  another  kingdom,  created  by  the  King  of  Heaven,  and  estab- 
lished by  the  Son  of  I\Inn,  whose  kingdom  is  an  everlasting  king- 
dom, and  all  dominions  shall  serve  and  obey  him.  This  sound  of 
deliverance,  of  salvation  for  all  nations,  pervades  all  our  revela- 
tions like  the  distant  rolling  of  thunder,  whose  sound  increases  in 
proportion  as  it  approaches  ;  and  Avhen  the  appointed  time 
arrived — when  the  earth  gave  birth  to  her  Saviour — when  the 
desire  of  the  nations  appeared,  the  aged  Simeon  exclaimed,  "  3Iine 
eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation,  which,  thou  hast  prepared  before  the  face  of 
all  people."  The  son  of  Zacharias  made  the  desert  resound  with 
the  words — all  flesh  sliall  see  the  salvation  of  God.  The  son  of 
Abraham,  and  of  David  himself,  whose  glance  pierced  futurity, 
made  to  the  earth,  divided  between  a  thousand  superstitions,  this 
touching  promise  :  There  shall  be  onefold  and  one  shepherd.  And 
finally,  at  the  moment  of  his  ascension,  he  left  to  his  disciples  the 
testament  contained  in  our  text,  upon  which  the  words  we  have 
quoted  are  but  the  commentary :  Go  unto  all  the  world  and  preach 
the  gospel  to  every  creature. 

Do  you  believe,  my  dear  hearers,  that  a  method,  prepared  so 
many  ages  l)eforehand — prepared  by  God  himself,  shall  not  be 
sufRciently  powerfid  to  attain  the  end  for  which  it  was  designed  .' 
A  work  decreed  in  the  counsels  of  the  Father,  for  which  he  has 
formed  a  people  to  himself,  has  raised  up  prophets,  has  filled 
Israel  from  age  to  age  with  so  many  mighty  promises,  shall  this 
be  a  work  for  which  there  is  no  method  of  accomplishment .' 
The  blessing  announced  four  thousand  years  ago  to  the  sons  of 
Terah,  on  the  plains  of  Haran,  shall  it  not  now  spread  over  all  the 
earth  7  That  which  man  designs,  so  far  as  he  has  strength,  he 
executes  ;  sliall  it  not  be  the  same  with  God  .'    When  he  has  gone 


110  CHRISTIANITY  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 

forward,  shall  he  turn  back ;  after  having  spoken,  shall  he  keep 
silence  ?  No ;  the  truth  did  not  lie  unto  the  Patriarchs ;  the 
FAITHFUL  does  not  now  repent  of  that  which  he  then  promised  ; 
■  God  is  not  a  man,  that  he  should  lie  ;  neither  the  Son  of  Man,  that  he 
should  repent ;  hath  he  said,  and  shall  he  not  do  it  ? 

But,  do  you  still  ask,  is  this  way  decreed  of  God  so  many  ages 
in  advance  ?  is  it  really  appropriate  for  the  end  it  was  designed  to 
accomplish,  and  capable  of  causing  the  abominations  of  the  peo- 
ple to  disappear?  Since  it  is  God  who  established  it,  God 
who  knows  the  heart  of  man,  can  we  doubt  it  ?  But  let  us  in- 
vestigate and  admire  how  admirable  and  proper  the  means  are  to 
destroy  even  the  principle  of  idolatry,  and  thus  to  pull  up  the  tree 
by  its  roots.  From  whence  has  idolatry  arisen  ?  Man  bears 
within  him  a  conscience :  this  holy  voice  cries  out  that  he  is 
guilty.  Dreading  an  angry  Judge,  he  seeks  everywhere  for  some 
support,  for  some  intercessor.  The  angels,  the  stars,  imaginary 
beings,  men,  shall  I  say,  beasts,  trees,  stones  ?  become  to  him  so 
many  secondary  divinities,  so  many  mediators,  to  whom  he  ad- 
dresses himself  to  be  reconciled  with  the  supreme  God,  and  be- 
fore whom,  alas !  the  same  terrors  soon  come  to  assail  him. 
Your  iniquities  have  separated  between  you  and  your  God.  What 
shall  be  done  to  ruin  from  their  foundations  all  these  systems  of 
polytheism,  immensely  different, but  all  having  the  same  origin  .' 

Fear  has  given  birth  to  idols ;  love  would  re-establish  the 
throne  of  God  in  the  heart.  It  is  necessary  that  this  consoling 
voice  should  penetrate  the  depths  of  the  heart  of  man :  "  God  has 
pardoned  thee !  God  has  loved  thee  !"  This  voice  has  been  heard ! 
It  sounded  eighteen  hundred  years  ago  on  Calvary ;  for  eight- 
een hundred  years  it  has  resounded  in  the  world  ;  and  it  is  now 
borne  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  universe.  At  the  moment 
when  the  Son  of  God,  bearing  our  griefs,  expiated  our  sins,  satis- 
fied eternal  justice,  reconciled  the  world  unto  his  Father,  uttered 
a  loud  cry  upon  Golgotha,  fulfilled  all  things,  and  bowed  his  di- 
vine head,  this  astonishing  mystery  was  made  known  to  man — 
God  is  love  !  Nations  of  the  earth  !  tremble  no  longer  before 
your  bloody  idols  .'  God  is  love  !  Cease  your  sacrifices  !  reject  all 
your  vain  practices  !  Despise  all  your  powerless  mediators  !  That 
Avhich  God  has  already  done,  you  need  no  longer  do.  Jesus,  the 
only  mediator,  has  died,  the  just  for  the  unjust.  God  has  reconciled 
the  world  unto  Himself.  God  is  love  !  At  this  new  voice,  which 
resounds  throughout  the  world,  the  heart  of  the  people  is  aston- 
ished. My  brethren,  their  fears  are  dissipated ;  they  abandon 
their  Gods  of  blood,  and  cast  themselves  with  tears  into  the  arms 
of  God  their  Saviour !  "  Nothing  in  the  whole  Gospel  surprised 
me  so  much,"  said  a  converted  African,  "  as  the  news  that  God  is 
LOVE.  An  inexpressible  joy  then  filled  my  heart,  and  I  broke  my 
idols."  "  I  have  tried,"  said  a  Hindoo  to  a  worthy  missionary, 
who  had  asked  him  why  he  wished  to  become  a  Christian,  "  I 
have  tried,  in  all  the  ways  my  countrymen  know,  to  calm  the 
troubles  of  my  heart ;  I  have  bathed  in  the  Ganges ;  I  have  visited 
holy  places ;  I  have  made  presents  to  the  Brahmins ;  I  have  re- 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS.  Ill 

peated  all  the  names  of  our  gods; — but  all  this  has  not  given 
peace  to  my  soul.  Latterly  I  have  learned  that  Jesus  Christ  be- 
came a  man  ;  that  he  died  for  us,  his  enemies,  to  take  away  our 
sins.  This  must  be  the  true  way  of  salvation,  and  therefore  I 
would  become  his  disciple." 

Yes,  Lord,  it  is  thy  death  which  must  convert  the  people.  To 
the  Jew  a  stumbling-block,  to  the  Greek  foolishness,  it  is  the  wisdom  of 
God  and  the  jwwer  of  God ;  and  for  eighteen  hundred  years  it  has 
not  failed  to  accomplish  this  word  of  thine :  And  I,  if  I  be  lifted 
vp  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all  men  imto  me.  But  what  were  your- 
selves, my  dear  hearers,  before  the  good  news  of  Christ  was  borne 
to  you  .'  Decipher  on  the  ancient  monvaments  the  names  of  the 
idols  whom  your  fathers  adored,  seek  in  the  deep  forests  far  the 
bloody  altars  upon  which  your  Dniids  immolated  their  victims, 
and  you  will  form  some  idea  of  the  power  of  this  good  news  of 
the  love  of  God  in  Christ,  to  destroy  the  superstition  of  the  Gen- 
tiles. 

Nations  of  Europe,  to  what  do  you  owe  the  light  you  enjoy, 
the  knowledge  of  the  true  God,  the  civilisation,  the  institutions 
of  society,  the  blessings  of  domestic  life,  and  the  many  founda- 
tions Avhich  come  to  the  relief  of  human  misery.'  To  what,  if 
not  to  the  Gospel  of  Christ  ?  And  why  will  you  not  do  now  for 
other  nations  that  which  was  formerly  done  for  yourselves  ? 

But  does  not  that  which  we  now  see  in  our  midst  sufficiently 
attest  the  power  of  the  cross  of  Christ  to  convert  idolatrous  hearts  ? 
I  have  seen  the  Avorldling  converted  ;  I  have  seen  the  unbeliever 
convinced  ;  I  have  seen  him  who  had  sacrificed  to  criminal  pas- 
.sions  become  holy  unto  tlie  Lord  ;  and  it  was  the  cross  of  Christ 
which  effected  these  miracles  !  Do  you  think,  then,  my  dear 
hearers,  that  the  heart  of  man  may  be  more  capable  of  resist- 
ing it  inider  one  zone,  than  under  another?  Do  you  believe 
that  those  idols  of  gold  and  silver,  before  which  these  people 
prostrate  themselves,  have  chains  more  difficult  to  break  by  the 
strength  of  God  than  the  thousand  idols  of  our  lusts  .'  No  !  tlic 
lavcr  in  which  our  members  have  been  healed  is  accessible  to  all 
nations,  and  its  water  is  powerful  for  all  nations  ! 

Think,  then,  my  brethren,  of  your  responsibility,  and  of  the 
fault  of  which  you  are  guilty,  if  you  do  not  give  to  the  world  the 
powerful  remedy  which  is  found  in  your  hands.  If  a  town  was 
ravaged  by  a  contagious  fever,  how  guilty  would  that  man  be 
who,  possessing  an  infallible  remedy,  should  refuse  to  make  it 
known  ?  Oh  !  the  mental  plague  of  the  soul,  which  desolates  ido- 
latrous nations,  is  a  thousand  times  more  terrible  than  all  the 
plagues  of  the  body.  Wc  have  in  our  hands  the  means  which 
can  destroy  it,  the  Gospel  of  Christ — and  will  you  refuse  to  bear  it 
to  them .' 

God  has  planted  upon  the  earth  a  tree,  which  springing,  said 
the  Saviour,  from  the  least  of  allseeds,  is  to  shelter  under  its  grateful 
shadow  everything  under  the  heavens.  Christians  of  Europe' 
why  do  you  arbitrarily  cut  off  its  branches  .'  why  do  you  pei  lait 
them  to  cover  only  your  own  dwellings,  and  why  do  you  hinder 


112  CHRISTIANITY  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 

them  from  spreading  over  the  most  remote  nations  ?  ■  God  has  de- 
creed a  temple  to  be  raised  in  the  earth,  and  from  the  beginning 
has  traced  its  design  in  such  a  manner,  that  it  shall  hold  within 
its  enclosure  all  the  tribes  of  earth — who  has  given  you  a  right  to 
contract  its  borders,  and  to  narrow  the  curtains  of  its  habitations  7 
The  Son  of  God  has  given  up  his  life  for  the  fulfilment  of  this 
counsel,  and  you,  by  your  indifference,  oppose  it  as  much  as  in 
you  lies  ;  you  render  useless  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  you 
lose  those  for  whom  Christ  had  died.  What,  are  not  the  nations  of 
Asia,  of  Africa,  of  America — are  they  not  those  families  of  the 
EARTH,  who  were  to  be  blessed  m  the  posterity  of  Abraham  ?  Chris- 
tian souls  !  you  are  now  the  depositories  of  the  healing  of  the  na- 
tions, and  if  you  bury  it  in  the  earth,  instead  of  trafficking  with  it, 
you  will  hear,  in  the  day  of  God,  these  words.  Cast  the  unfaithful 
servant  into  outer  darkness.  These  unhappy  nations  think  not 
as  you  do.  With  loud  cries  they  demand  of  you  this  remedy. 
"  For  a  long  time,"  said  a  Hindoo  to  the  European  Christians, 
"  for  a  long  time  you  have  had  this  glorious  book,  this  book  of 
the  nations;  for  many  ages  you  have  known  its  truth,  it  has  made 
you  free  :  it  has  given  you  peace  ;  and  for  us  ? — you  have  left  us 
to  languish  in  the  darkness,  in  the  slavery  of  superstition,  of  sin 
and  of  death."  "  Woe  is  me,'"  exclaimed  the  first  missionary 
among  the  heathen,  Paul  of  Tarsus,  and  we  ought  also  to  repeat 
it  after  him,  "  Woe  is  me  if  I  preach  not  the  Gospel." 

THE    SUCCESS. 

Yes,  my  brethren,  the  work  of  publishing  the  Gospel  through- 
out the  world,  is  the  great  work  designed  of  God.  "  But,"  per- 
haps some  one  may  say,  "  why  may  not  even  the  greatness  of  the 
misery  of  the  heathen  discourage  us  ?  What  hope  can  we  enter- 
taui  of  changing  all  this  .'  What  a  multitude  of  olstacles  ?  It  is 
an  impracticable  thing." 

We  will  begin,  my  brethren,  by  a  partial  recognition  of  the 
truth  of  what  you  say.  Yes,  there  are  and  there  will  ever  be  a  mul- 
titude of  obstacles.  We  shall  find  some  nations  who  will  ajipear 
resolutely  attached  to  their  superstitions;  we  shall  encounter  some 
who,  bearing  the  name  of  Christians,  will,  through  different  mo- 
tives, oppose  this  admirable  work  ;  we  shall  sometimes,  perhaps, 
be  deceived  in  our  missionaries,  who  will  not  always  be  equal 
to  the  work ;  and  other  obstacles  still  will  accumulate.  But, 
though  those  obstacles  should  rise  as  high  as  the  heavens  are 
above  the  earth,  we  ought  not  for  an  instant  to  hesitate  ;  for,  not- 
withstanding all  these  obstacles,  our  business  is  still  with  the 
work  of  God,  with  the  Avork  of  man's  salvation.  What  good  en- 
terprise is  there  on  earth  in  which  obstacles  are  not  found  ?  What 
one  is  there,  which  would  ever  be  accomplished,  did  we  allow 
ourselves  to  be  thus  discouraged  ? 

What  should  we  have  become,  the  nations  of  Europe,  if  the 
missionary  Paul  of  Tarsus  had  lost  all  hope  when  he  saw  himself 
in  the  first  European  city  to  which  he  carried  the  Gospel,  seized, 
dragged  before  the  magistrates,  cast  into  prison,  and  his  feet  put 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS.  113 

into  the  stocks  ?  And  when,  in  the  second  city  to  which  he  came, 
he  raised  against  himself  such  a  terrible  tumult  that  his  friends 
were  obliged  to  set  him  without  the  walls  by  night,  what  would 
have  become  of  us,  if,  frightened  by  these  obstacles,  he  had  end- 
ed his  mission,  had  quitted  Europe,  and  returned  to  Asia  ?  Igno- 
rant and  barbarous,  we  should  ha\'e  still  continued  to  sacrifice 
in  our  forests  human  victims  to  bloody  divinities  !  But  he  feared 
no  obstacle ;  he  advanced  intrepidly  on  his  way  ;  preached  at 
Athens  the  unknown  God,  leaving  to  all  ages  an  example  of  cour- 
age, which  ought  for  ever  to  animate  the  disciples  of  Christ. 

Let  not  obstacles,  then,  discourage  us,  but  let  them  rather 
redouble  our  zeal !  When  the  pilot  finds  himself  on  a  stormy  sea, 
he  does  not  allov/  the  bellowing  waves  which  beat  on  all  sides 
of  his  vessel,  to  check  his  course ;  but  he  looks  at  the  compass, 
and  holding  with  a  firm  hand  to  the  helm,  he  ploughs  the  furious 
waves  and  stretches  for  port.  My  brethren,  the  compass  to  which 
you  should  look  is  the  Word  of  God ;  there  are  the  promises  of 
God,  God  himself,  who  is  true,  and  who  will  not  fail  you — look 
to*Him  and  go  forward.  He  knows  that  he  gave  a  difficult  order, 
and  that  the  courage  of  his  disciples  wotild  often  waver.  He 
who  said  to  them  in  my  text,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  zvorld,  and  preach 
the  Gospel  to  every  creature  ;■'  lilte wise  said  to  them  immediately  be- 
fore, "  All  POWER  is  given  unto  me  in  he.wen  and  in  earth  ;"  and 
immediately  after, "  Lo  !  1  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end 
OF  THE  ^voRLD."  Thcso  two  sayiugs  are  as  two  columns  which 
support,  on  the  right  and  on  the  left,  the  work  to  which  we  call 
you.  Fear  not !  let  not]  your  courage  falter  for  a  moment ! 
Friends  of  the  publication  of  the  Gospel  of  peace  upon  the  earth  ! 
preachers  of  righteousness  to  the  distant  races  of  Shem  and  Ham! 
it  is  not  your  strength,  but  the  power  of  Christ  which  is  to  accom- 
phsh  all  this.  You  fight  under  the  standard  of  a  master  to  whom 
ALL  POWER  has  been  given  in  heaven  and  in  earth  !  He  holds  in 
his  hands  the  hearts  of  all  kings  and  people,  and  from  the  stones 
themselves,  he  can  if  he  will  raise  up  children  unto  Abraham ! 
Fear  not !  "  He  is  always  with  you,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world." 
It  is  his  work  and  not  yours  that  you  are  to  accomplish,  and  he 
is  himself  there  to  perform  his  work.  O,  thou  afflicted,  tossed  with 
tempest,  fear  nothing .'  says  the  Lord.  Behold  they  shall  surely  gather 
together  but  not  by  me  ;  whosoever  shall  gather  togcth'jr  against  thee  shall 
fall  for  thy  sake.     No  loeapon  that  is  formed  against  thee  shall  prosper. 

So,  my  brethren,  even  when  we  cannot  see  the  least  success, 
we  ought  to  walk  by  faith.  But  is  it  thus  .'  No,  the  voice  of  re- 
joicing and  salvation  is  in  the  tabernacles  of  the  righteous.-  the  right 
hand  of  the  Lord  doeth  valiantly.'  Who  are  these  that  fly  as  a  cloud, 
and  as  the  doves  to  their  roindows?  Thy  Church,  oh  Lord,  shall  suck 
the  milk  of  the  Gentiles,  and  shall  suck  the  breast  of  kings/ 

Never,  since  the  first  propagation  of  Christianity  upon  earth, 
has  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  been  crowned  with  such  success : 
this  work  is  accomplished  from  the  ice  of  one  pole  to  the  ice  of 
the  other,  and  the  sun  in  his  whole  course  does  not  cease  to  shine 
upon  it.     In  the  utmost  limits  of  the  north,  Greenland  has  seen 


114  CHRISTIANITY  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 

barbarism  and  the  vices  of  savage  life  fly,  and  the  icy  desert  blos- 
som nice  the  rose.  A  little  lower,  in  Labrador,  four  Christian  sta- 
tions are  gradually  gathering  around  them  these  vi^andering  sav- 
ages, and  transforming  them  into  children  of  God  and  civilized 
tribes,  "  One  has  only  to  see  an  Esquimaux,"  said  a  venerable 
Missionary  to  us  who  had  labored  thirty  years  in  these  ungenial  cli- 
mates, "  to  discover  in  the  peace  and  love  which  shine  in  all  his 
features,  or  in  his  stern  and  ferocious  glance,  whether  he  is  or  is 
not  a  Christian."  Let  us  descend  to  the  islands  and  towards  the 
continent  of  the  West  Indies,  everywhere  the  unhapi^y  negro 
slaves  are  called  to  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  Gospel  ?  We  have 
seen  in  the  house  of  our  colonists  at  Paramaribo,  the  negress  con- 
verted by  the  Moravian  missionaries,  display  all  the  Christian  vir- 
tues, and  act  as  a  mother  to  the  children  of  her  masters.  Do  the 
miracles  of  Otaheite  and  the  neighboring  isles  salute  us  .'  Otaheite 
become  a  Christian  church,  a  Christian  state;  Otaheite,  where 
horrible  debaucheries  and  human  sacrifices  have  ceased  ;  Otaheite 
filled  with  the  Word  of  God,  an  object  of  astonishment  to  naviga- 
tors ;*  a  habitation  of  light,  from  which  are  constantly  sent  forth 
a  number  of  native  preachers,  to  bear  to  other  isles  the  benefits  of 
the  Gospel ;  Otaheite,  whose  king,  now  deceased,  gave  to  a  Euro- 
pean seaman,  in  place  of  any  other  present,  a  New  Testament  in 
the  Otaheitan  tongue.  Shall  we  visit  the  Sandwich  Islands,  a  few 
years  ago  covered  with  darkness  .'  We  shall  hear  there,  on  Satur- 
day evening,  a  public  crier  passing  through  the  villages,  saying  : 
"  Inhabitants  !  cease  from  your  labors ;  the  Lord's  day  a23proaches." 
Schools  are  multiplied  ;  polygamy  is  abolished  ;  children  are  no 
longer  destroyed."  "  This,"  said  a  father,  carrying  a  bamboo  filled 
with  oil,  designed  for  the  use  of  the  Missions,  "  this  is  for  my  child  ! 
if  the  Missionaries  had  not  come,  my  child  had  lost  its  life  like 
many  others?"  And  the  powerful  queen,  Keopulani,  raising  her- 
self on  her  dyhig  couch,  found  strength  to  say  to  the  chiefs  who 
surrounded  her  :  "  The  Word  of  God  is  a  true  Word  !  I  have  no 
desire  to  return  to  the  gods  of  Hawai :  they  are  all  false  gods  ;  but 
1  love  Jesus  Christ,  and  I  have  given  myself  to  Him  !" 

Do  we  reach  even  New  Zealand  .'  Undoubtedly  the  Gospel  has 
not  ^^et  obtained  there  such  glorious  victories  ;  but  it  has  already 
commenced  to  soften  the  cannibal  inhabitants.  The  chief  Banghi 
has  forsaken  his  god  Atna,  invisible  eater  of  men  ;  for  he  has 
found  Christ,  and  at  the  point  of  death,  he  exclaimed :  "  There  is 
great  light  within  me." 

Traversing  the  vast  ocean,  passing  beyond  South  America, 
upon  which  still  rests  darkness,  let  us  greet  the  southern  part  of 
the  African  continent.  A  continually  increasing  number  of  tnrly 
Christian  and  civilized  communities  are  formed  and  are  still  forming 
among  the  Hottentots,  the  savage  Bushmen,  the  Caflres,  the  Na- 
maquas  and  other  tribes.     The  stupid  Hottentot,  emancipated  by 

*  See  among  others  the  despatch  addressed  to  his  excellency,  the  Minis- 
ter of  the  Marine  of  France,  by  M.  Duperrey,  Lieutenant,  commanding  H. 
M.  corvette  the  CoqviUc,  in  the  Mbniteur  of  the  1st  of  April,  1824. 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS.  115 

the  Gospel,  builds  asylums  in  whicli  are  received  his  poor,  liis  in- 
firm, his  aged ;  all  the  arts  of  civilisation  are  spreading  in  these 
countries,  over  which  the  philosophy  of  ages  had  pronounced  its 
powerless  curse.  Upon  the  western  shores  of  Africa,  some  colo- 
nies of  free  negroes  present  miracles  of  humility,  of  faith,  of  Chris- 
tian charity,  along  with  order  and  industry,  and  the  Children  of  the 
burning  sands  include  all  Christianity  in  their  touching  summary  : 
*•  Bad  heart,  very  bad  ;  but  Saviour  good,  very  good." 

Some  Swiss  missionaries  are  found  on  the  frontiers  of  inaccessi- 
ble Abyssinia,  and  one  of  them,  whom  we  have  the  happiness  to 
know,  saw  before  he  had  crossed  its  limits,  one  of  the  most  influ- 
ential Abyssinians  converted  to  true  Christianity.  Cairo,  ancient 
Alexandria,  echo  to  the  steps  of  the  preacher  of  the  Gospel.  The 
Greek,  who  is  awakening,  will  awake,  we  trust,  a  Christian; 
Tliessalonica  already  renews  the  spectacle  she  presented  to  the 
eyes  of  the  missionary  Paul.  Children,  young  men,  old  men,  a 
great  number  of  Greek  priests,  all  ask  with  eagerness  for  the  Holy 
Scriptures  in  modern  Greek  ;  and  a  poor  gardener,  who  lived  onlj^ 
by  the  produce  of  his  little  garden,  deposited  at  the  feet  of  the 
Missionary  a  basket  of  fruit,  all  his  wealth,  asking  in  exchange  the 
Gospel  of  Christ. 

The  ancient  and  fallen  churches  of  the  East  begin  to  stir  and 
to  awaken.  The  sons  of  the  New  World  hasten  from  the  banks 
of  the  Ohio  to  preach  Christ  crucified  to  the  inhabitants  of  Jeru- 
salem. The  New  Testament  is  liberally  scattered  among  the  dis- 
persed Churches  of  Syria  and  Armenia,  even  in  the  midst  of  the 
ruins  of  Aleppo  ;  a  confused  sound,  as  of  a  corpse  that  gathers 
together  its  bones,  is  heard  throughout  these  countries.  Some 
American  families,  protected  by  the  Muscovite  standard,  have 
gathered  in  crowds  upon  the  soil  of  their  ancient  country,  from 
which  have  fled  the  subjects  of  the  Crescent.  Islamism,  whose 
downfall  is  announced  by  more  than  one  event,  and  onepro])hecy, 
beghis  to  receive  the  go.spel  of  the  Nazarcne.  The  Kurds,  the 
Calmucks,  the  Burgates  ask  for  Missionaries,  and  receive  them. 
At  Ceylon  more  than  ten  thousand  children  are  found  in  schools. 
The  ancient  priests  of  Buddha  annonnce  the  Gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ;  they  are  seen  in  numerous  groups,  advancing  towards  the 
baptismal  font,  clothed  in  tlieir  sacerdotal  habits;  then  casting 
them  aside  and  confessing  Jesus.  The  high  priest,  Nadasis,  who 
had  built  sixty  pagan  temples,  and  who  maintained  three  hundred 
and  fifty  priests,  is  converted  to  the  Gospel — employs  all  his  in- 
fluence to  spread  it,  and  rejilies  to  those  who  ask  him  what  he 
thinks  of  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ:  "The  religion  of  Buddha 
is  the  light ;  but  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  sun."  The 
Burman  Empire,  object  of  the  most  admirable  devotion,  begins  to 
receive  the  rays  of  the  sun  of  righteousness.  The  missionaries 
have  penetrated  into  tJtc  Golden  City,  and  before  the  golden  face 
of  the  King.  They  are  cast  into  dungeons;  they  see  themselves 
robbed  of  dear  comi^anions,*  but  they  remain  firm  in  the  faith  ; 

*  We  refer  particularly  to  the  death  of  Mrs.  Jiulson,  whose  memoirs 
have  been  published  in  America. 


116  CHRISTIANITY  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 

soon  they  elevate  with  more  boldness  than  ever,  the  standard  of 
Christ,  and  "  hail,"  say  they,  "  the  period  not  far  distant,  when, 
like  the  Otaheitan,  the  Birman  shall  break  the  chains  of  supersti- 
tion and  idolatry,  and  shall  join  those  nations  w^ho  adore  the  one 
true  and  living  God."  But  let  us  direct  our  step  towards  India, 
whose  horrors  we  have  described ;  they  are  not  yet  converted 
like  Otaheite,  Eimeo,  the  Sandwich  Islands,  the  south  of  Africa ; 
but  already  on  all  sides  these  countries  begin  to  open  to  the 
Gospel ;  say  the  missionary  societies  of  the  Low  Countries,  "  we 
now  hear  of  young  girls  at  Chinsurah,  in  Bengal,  seated  under 
trees,  sheltered  from  the  burning  rays  of  the  sun,  reading  aloud 
from  the  Bible,  and  relating  to  each  other  some  of  the  extracts  of 
our  sacred  books.  Wives,  in  place  of  being  only  miserable  slaves, 
sometimes  contribute  to  the  intellectual  culture  of  their  husbands, 
often  teaching  them  to  read,  after  having  learned  to  do  so  them- 
selves, and  both  coming  to  offer  themselves  to  the  missionaries  as 
instructors  of  the  rising  generation.  The  poor  children,  instead 
of  being  thrown  to  the  crocodiles,  are  received  into  an  infinite 
number  of  schools.  A  little  girl  of  nine  years,  born  in  Europe, 
restricted  her  food,  in  order  to  contribute  toAvards  procuring  the 
benefits  of  instruction  for  children  of  her  own  age  !  "  We  can- 
not describe,"  continue  the  respected  men  of  whom  I  have  spoken, 
"  the  progress  that  Christianity  is  making  in  these  countries  !  Oh  ! 
if  the  women  of  the  Low  Countries  could,  through  love  to  the 
Saviour,  take  to  heart  the  salvation  of  their  sisters  in  Bengal ! 
We  who  arejhere,  cannot  cease  to  supplicate'our  friends  in  Christ  to 
come  to  ouraid  bymissionaries,  by  prayers  and  by  contributions." 
And  what  touching  scenes  are  laid  open  to  us  in  India !  Here 
we  see  a  Brahmin  who  has  made  a  vow  of  perpetual  silence : 
when  he  passes  through  the  streets,  the  richest  Hindoos  cast  them- 
selves at  his  feet  in  adoration.  This  mysterious  personage  wears 
a  necklace  of  serpents'  bones ;  he  seems  no  longer  to  have  any- 
thing in  common  with  humanity,  and  believes  himself  a  god.  But 
a  Christian  work,  in  the  Bengalese  tongue,  causes  light  to  shine 
through  the  barriers  whose  perpetual  silence  surrounds  him  :  his 
eyes  are  opened :  he  casts  himself  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  Christ ;  he 
renounces  his  caste,  receives  baptism,  and  becomes  an  humble 
disciple  of  the  Saviour.  Here  I  see  a  man,  for  a  long  period  the 
leader  of  a  band  of  singers,  who  repeated  heinous  hymns  in  idol 
temples ;  now  I  hear  him  in  a  Christian  temple,  a  minister  of 
Christ,  conducting  with  tears  the  song  of  thanksgiving  of  the  dis- 
ciples who  are  about  to  partake  with  him  of  the  supper  of  the 
Lord.  There  I  discover  an  aged  Hindoo,  who  for  a  long  period 
of  his  life  submitted  blindly  to  his  priests,  and  who  at  six  several 
times  has  yielded  to  the  torture  of  swinging  in  the  air.  Now  he 
has  become  a  Christian  and  his  death  approaches.  The  horrible 
thought  of  having  to  pass  through  the  bodies  of  sixty  millions  of 
animals  before  again  becoming  a  man,  does  not  trouble  his  soul 
at  this  solemn  moment.  Old  things  are  passed  away.  A  missionary 
visits  his  death-bed ;  he  asks  him^if,  in  the  midst  of  his  sutferings, 
he  still  feels  the  presence  of  his  Saviotir ;  and  the  old  man  placing 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS.  117 

his  hand  upon  his  breast  says  :  •'  He  is  here,  he  is  here,  I  feel  that  he 
is  here .'" 

Let  us  likewise  come,  my  brethren,  to  Java  and  the  neighboring 
islands,  submitting  to  our  august  and  beloved  sovereign,  and  on 
which  our  missionaries  arc  laboring  at  eleven  stations.  In  the 
voyages  made  by  our  missionaries,  multitudes  press  around  them, 
desiring  the  words  of  the  good  news  of  Christ,  like  a  thirsty  soil 
awaiting  the  rain  from  heaven.  Heathen  princes  themselves 
contribute  to  the  maintenance  of  Missions ;  others  call  ujion 
the  missionaries  to  establish  a  Christian  school  in  their  island. 
Temples  consecrated  to  the  worship  of  the  evil  spirit  are  destroyed ; 
the  eagerness  of  these  islanders  for  the  Word  of  God  is  such,  that 
the  missionaries,  not  having  a  sufficient  number  of  the  sacred 
books,  are  obliged  to  distribute  leaf  by  leaf,  fragments  of  their 
own  Bibles ;  the  grace  of  God  works  in  their  hearts,  everywhere 
they  are  asking  for  instruction,  and  the  melioration  of  manners, 
and  industry  among  these  people,  furnish  striking  proof  of  the 
progress  they  have  made  in  the  truth.  We  will  show  you  a  Chi- 
nese widow,  long  a  disciple  of  Confucius,  who  having  taken 
refuge  in  one  of  our  islands,  fell  asleep  shortly  after  in  the  Lord  : 
"  No,  I  fear  nothing  more,"  said  she,  on  her  death-bed,  to  the  wife 
of  one  of  our  oldest  missionaries  in  the  East  Indies,  "  I  am  not 
afraid  of  death  itself,  for  I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed,  and  my  Sa- 
viour is  powerful  to  forgive  all  my  sins  !"  The  very  night  of  her 
departure  she  said  :  "  Now  I  feel  that  God  is  reconciled  with  me, 
and  his  peace  is  diffused  throughout  my  soul."  Shortly  after,  call- 
ing to  the  persons  who  watched  near  her  bedside,  she  said: 
"  Now  you  may  go  to  sleep,  for  I  shall  soon  go  to  rest."  Then 
she  slept  sweetly  in  Jesus. 

How  can  we  better  complete  our  survey  than  by  greeting  China 
herself,  who  believes  herself  to  be  as  unchangeable  as  God,  but 
whom  the  Word  of  the  Lord  has  already  begun  to  shake  .'  Our 
missionaries  of  the  Eastern  Archipelago,  in  the  advanced  posts  of 
Christianity,  are  in  the  presence  of  this  dreaded  enemy :  the  Word 
of  God  translated  into  Chhiese,  is  liberally  scattered  wherever  it 
can  find  access.  One  of  our  missionaries,  whose  hand  we  have 
more  than  once  clasped  Avith  fraternal  pressure,*  is  unwearied  in 
distributing  it  upon  the  Chinese  vessels  and  upon  all  those  that 
can  penetrate  our  courts.  Already  Keutcnching,  a  Chinesn  convert- 
ed by  his  countryman  Lcangafa,  lias  made  the  shores  of  the  Ceks- 
Lial  Empire  resound  with  this  "touching  confession :  "  J\]y  brother 
said  to  me  ;  man,  though  his  sins  are  as  weighty  as  great  mountains, 
if  he  sincerely  repent  and  trust  in  Jesus,  the  Saviour  of  the  world, 
shall  obtain  complete  deliverance  from  his  sins  and  the  blessing 
of  eternal  life  !— I  opened  my  heart;  I  believed  ;  I  received  bap- 
tism, asking  the  Holy  Spirit  to  implant  within  my  heart  the  root  of 
holiness !" 

Thus  the  pretended  everlasting  bulwarks  begin  to  tremble. 
Thus  all  flesh  begins  to  see  the  salvation  of  God.  Thus  from  one  end 
of  the  world  to  the  other,  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  and    His 

♦  M.  Gutzlaff. 


118  CHRISTIANITY  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 

Anointed  begins  to  fill  the  earth.  0  God  !  of  a  truth  thou  hast  set 
u]}  thine  ensign  for  the  nations  ! 

Now,  my  brethren,  we  come  to  solicit  you,  in  the  name  of  God 
the  Saviour,  henceforth  to  take  a  lively  and  sincere  interest  in  the 
great  and  admirable  work  of  Evangelical  missions  among  the 
heathen.  Nations  of  Europe  !  We  have  long  enough,  through  our 
avarice  and  licentiousness,  borne  misery,  debauchery,  discord,  and 
slavery  to  distant  nations.  Boast  of  your  civilisation,  people  of  Eu- 
rope !  and  these  nations  will  reply,  by  presenting  to  you  your  errors, 
your  depravity  and  your  crimes  !  Such  are  the  influences,  which 
for  ages  have  issued  from  a  corrupt  Christianity.  We  are  indebt- 
ed to  these  people,  my  brethren  ;  we  have  many  faults  to  expi- 
ate. Our  fathers  have  left  us  a  debt  which  we  must  discharge : 
new  counting-houses  must  be  erected  upon  all  the  shores  of  India, 
l^eopled  with  new  merchants,  circulating  new  treasures. 

Europe,  my  brethren,  is  like  a  volcano  which  often  keeps 
silence  without,  because  it  is  stirring  up  within  its  destructive 
fires ;  but  at  certain  periods  it  casts  forth  its  flames  and  its  burn- 
ing lava.  Eiirope  cannot  contain  all  the  life  that  is  enclosed  within 
her.  Three  periods  in  modern  times  have  already  succeeded 
each  other,  in  which  she  has  cast  her  power  without.  Once  stir- 
red by  a  warlike  sj)irit  influenced  by  religious  fanaticism,  she 
placed  herself  in  arms  u.nder  the  standard  of  the  Cross,  to  seek  by 
fire  and  sword,  the  conquest  of  the  land  once  sanctified  by  the 
steps  of  the  Prince  of  Peace.  Later,  a  spirit. of  discovery  spread 
along  all  the  European  shores ;  vessels  followed  vessels,  Europe 
crossed  the  seas  and  discovered  with  astonishment  a  new  World, 
peopled  by  inhabitants  of  whose  being  she  had  until  now  been 
ignorant.  At  a  still  later  period,  when  her  discoveries  were  se- 
cured, a  mercantile  spirit  seized  the  same  nations ;  they  cruised 
for  gold  and  silver,  and  everywhere  established  their  counting- 
houses. 

Now,  my  brethren,  a  new  period  commences.  Europe,  in  peace, 
has  a  new  necessity  for  carrymg  her  strength  without.  Let  the 
spirit  of  discovery  continue,  let  mercantile  relations  be  multiplied. 
It  is  well ;  but  meanwhile  there  are  new  enterprises  to  be  formed 
with  which  it  is  our  business  to  be  informed.  All  the  evangelical 
nations  of  Europe  feel  religious  activity  kindling  within  their  bo- 
soms. This  period  must  be  marked  by  a  new  character  and  by  a 
more  noble  zeal  than  all  those  which  have  preceded  it.  Let  us 
bear  to  the  nations  who  are  our  brethren,  sprung  from  the  same 
blood  with  us,  and  redeemed  also  by  the  same  blood,  let  us  carry 
to  them  the  knowledge  of  God,  civilisation,  the  Christian  virtues, 
private  and  public  peace,  peace  on  earth,  eternal  peace  ! 

Christians  !  think  of  those  who  have  borne  Christianity  to  you  ! 
Think  that  if  Amand,  Elige,  Wilfried,  Ewald,*  and  many  others, 
had  been  so  indifferent,  neither  you  nor  your  fathers  would  ever 

*  Amandus  spread  the  Gospel  in  Flanders  about  the  year  635.  Elizius, 
in  Friseland  and  Flanders,  about  the  year  640.  Wilfried  preached  also  in 
Frise  about  the  year  680.  Willcbrod  and  Ewald  came  from  England, 
preaching  in  Friseland,  at  Utrecht,  about  the  year  690. 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS.  119 

have  become  Christians.  You  owe  a  tribute  of  gratitude  to  those 
ministers  of  the  Gospel,  who  first  bore  into  these  countries  the 
news  of  salvation  :  pay  it  to  their  successors  !  And  if  these  gene-. 
rous  men  were  so  devoted  in  diffusing  the  light,  which  the  errors 
of  men  had  already  begun  to  obscure,  what  zeal  ought  not  you  to 
manifest,  now  that  God  has  placed  it  in  your  hands  in  its  primi- 
tive splendor  ? 

Evangelical  Christians  '.  Has  not  the  Lord  transmitted  the  Gos- 
pel to  you  in  all  its  purity  ?  It  is  not  without  design  that  God  has 
given  the  empire  of  the  seas  to  evangelical  nations.  Remember 
those  Missionaries  of  the  truth  whom  the  Lord  raised  up,  three 
centuries  ago,  in  the  midst  of  slumbering  Europe,  and  send  to 
others  the  blessings  they  have  borne  you.* 

Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world.  Neither  do  men  light  a  candle  and  put 
it  under  a  bushel,  but  on  a  candlestick  ;  and  it  giveth  light  unto  all  that 
are  in  the  house,  that  is,  in  the  world. 

Christians  of  the  Low  Countries  !  show  yourselves  worthy  of  your 
ancestors  !  To  them  it  was  given  to  form  the  first  evangelical 
Missions  !  It  is  nearly  three  centuries  since,  when  they  had  but 
just  broken  a  double  yoke  and  formed  themselves  into  a  nation, 
under  the  glorious  standard  of  Orange,  that  they  proposed  to  pro- 
pagate in  the  Indies  at  the  same  time  with  their  commerce,  the 
glory  of  Jesus  Christ.  There  were  some  pastors  who,  renouncing 
all  temporal  advantages,  went  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  Java,  Ceylon 
and  other  countries.  A  Mission  Institute  was  founded  in  that  city 
of  the  northern  provinces,  celebrated  by  her  magnanimous  de- 
fence,f  What !  my  brethren,  have  the  times  so  changed .'  The 
standard  of  Orange  is  always  the  same  ;  as  it  has  not  ceased  to  be 
that  of  true  glory,  so  it  has  not  ceased  to  be  that  of  the  Gospel,  and 
to  cover  with  its  powerful  and  protecting  shade  the  generous 
efforts  of  all  who  labor  to  spread  among  the  nations  the  blessings 
of  Jesus  Christ !  Christians  of  the  Low  Countries  !  hear  the  voice 
of  your  countrymen  in  the  Indies  who  yet  worship  idols  ! 

AH  evangelical  nations  now  rival  each  other  in  zeal.  Opulent 
England  consecrates  to  the  Lord  the  tenth  of  her  increase,  the 
speed  of  her  navy,  and  the  influence  of  her  power. 

Reformed  France,  issuing  from  her  mourning,  her  long  poverty, 
from  her  protracted  trials,  bears  onward  with  joy  the  first  fruits  of 
the  new  life  which  animated  her.:j:  Switzerland  listens  from  the 
bosom  of  her  mountains,  and  though  distant  from  the  shores  of 
the  sea,  hears  the  plaintive  cries  its  waves  waft  to  us.  Old  Ger- 
many, always  faithful,  when  the  words  light,  truth,  humaaitij,  are 
sounded,  gives  her  sons  and  daughters  in  abundance,  and  makes 

*  This  sermon  was  preached  the  30th  October,  that,  is  on  the  evening 
of  the  anniversary  of  the  Reformation. 

t  Leyden.  See  the  history  of  the  efforts  of  the  United  Provinces  for  the 
propagation  of  the  Gospel,  since  the  year  1602,  in  the  islands  of  Ceylon, 
Java,  Formosa,  Amboyna,  etc.,  in  the  Journal  of  Evangelical  Missions  of 
Paris,  first  year,  page  289. 

t  The  first  three  Reformed  French  missionaries  departed  from  Paris  in 
the  summer  of  1829  for  the  south  oi  Africa. 


120  CHRISTIANITY  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 

them  slaves  unto  slaves,  in  order  to  convert  them  to  Christ. 
America,  youngest  in  the  ranks  of  nations,  springs  up  with  the 
ardor  of  youth,  and  carries  the  breath  of  a  new  respiration  to  the 
languishing  countries  of  Asia,  the  primitive  source  of  life,  and  the 
mother  of  nations.  The  love  of  Christ  now  embraces  the  nations  ; 
all  evangelical  communions  stretch  out  their  hands  from  the  four 
quarters  of  the  world,  and  march  to  the  same  battle  imder  the 
same  standard.  Christians  of  the  Low  Countries  !  let  this  uni- 
versal movement  arouse  us  !  We  were  formerly  the  first,  be  so 
still  at  the  present  hour.  Let  us  rally  around  those  noble  men, 
who  have  founded  in  our  country  the  best  institutions  that  grace 
it,  and  let  that  comprehensive  charity,  which  is  the  token  of  the 
strength  and  greatness  of  our  nation,  enlarge  all  hearts. 

"  But,"  you  will  perhaps  say,  "  we  cannot  go,  ^ve  have  our 
business,  our  relations."  True,  my  brethren,  but  we  do  not  ask 
you  to  go  ;  here  are  those  that  would  go.  Eleven  young  mission- 
aries* await  upon  your  shores  for  your  offerings,  that  they  may  go, 
m  the  name  of  God,  taking  nothing  of  the  Gentiles,  and  carry  the  glad 
tidings  to  those  who  know  it  not.  Give,  then,  ray  brethren,  give 
abundantly  !  Let  each  give  according  to  his  means.  Give  !  all 
that  you  possess  is  from  the  Lord.  He  is  it  who  has  given  it  to 
you ;  He  asks  of  you  only  a  small  portion  of  that  which  is  His. 
Give !  Tliink  of  the  incomprehensible  and  eternal  treasures 
of  the  grace  of  Christ,  which  have  become  your  portion,  and  give 
him  in  exchange  your  silver  and  your  gold. 

Do  not  listen  to  that  secret  voice  of  your  heart  which  counsels 
you  to  diminish  your  contribution,  and  do  not  bring  to  the  Lord's 
altar  worthless  copper  instead  of  silver  and  gold.  Give  me  to  drink, 
said  Jesus  to  the  woman  of  Samaria,  at  the  side  of  the  well. 
Give  me  to  drink  !  he  still  says  to  each  one  of  you  by  the  mouth 
of  those  who  languish  and  die  for  the  want  of  that  water  which 
whosoever  drinketh  of  it  shall  never  thirst !  Give  !  but  above  all  bring 
to  this  work  the  contributions  of  your  prayers  :  nothing  can  ever 
be  effected  in  the  Pagan  world  without  the  prayers  of  the  faithful. 
Pray,  then,  that  God  will  send  the  great,  the  only  missionary. 
His  Holy  Spirit,  who  alone  can  change  the  parched  grotmd  into  a 
pool,  and  the  thirst}/  land  into  springs  of  water. 

But  I  must  pause,  in  conclusion,  and  ask  if  I  am  not  myself  a 
missionary,  and  if  there  are  not  in  this  assembly  some  souls  to 
whom  I  ought  to  announce  the  good  tidings  from  heaven  as  if 
they  had  never  heard  them.  Listen,  my  brethren,  to  a  prophecy 
of  the  Lord,  and  tremble  :  Manij  shall  come  from  the  east  and  west, 
and  shall  sit  doivn  with  Abraham  and  Isaac  and  Jacob  in  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  but  the  children  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  cast  out.  I  am 
seized  with  fear  while  contemplating  these  words ;  seeing  how 
they  have  been  fulfilled  to  Israel,  I  tremble  lest  they  maybe  again 
accomplished  in  us  !  Oh  !  you  who  have  grown  up  in  the  midst 
of  the  privileges  of  the  house  of  God,  have  you  understood,  have 
you  believed  the  good  news,  published  through  the  world,  as 

*  They  have  since  gone  forth,  but  others  are  preparing  to  follow  them. 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  FOREIGN  MISSIONS,  121 

they  are  understood  and  believed  by  those  blessed  souls  m  our 
days,  who  have  been  called  from  the  east  and  the  west  ?  Alas  ! 
I  fear  that  the  constant  repetition  has  only  hardened  yoiu*  hearts  ! 
I  come  to  you  now  as  if  I  were  a  missionary,  arriving  for  the  first 
time  in  a  country  where  the  sound  of  the  Gospel  had  never  been 
heard.  Listen,  sinful  and  guilty  souls,  to  the  great  and  heaven- 
descended  news  I  bear.  God  saves  the  world :  he  luakes  peace 
with  his  people :  he  opens  the  gates  of  his  grace  and  his  glory. 
Christ  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all,  which  has  been  testified  in 
due  time.  Listen  to  this  testimony  as  if  it  were  the  first  time  you 
had  heard  it,  and  seek  to  understand  and  believe  it.  Yes  !  eight- 
een centuries  ago,  oh  soul  that  believest  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of 
God,  the  Saviour,  thy  ransom  was  paid.  Already  has  thy  debt  to 
God  been  discharged,  and  discharged  at  an  immense  price,  at  the 
price  of  the  life  of  the  Son  of  God.  At  that  moment  when  Christ 
said  upon  the  cross  :  It  is  finished.'  the  salvation  of  all  the  children 
of  God,  who  have  been,  who  are  and  who  will  be  upon  earth, 
from  every  people,  every  tongue,  every  tribe,  was  finished,  was 
perfected,  as  he  said  those  words.  Christ  is  now  the  ransom  for  all  : 
he  is  the  ransom  of  Europe ;  he  is  the  ransom  of  Asia ;  he  is  the 
ransom  of  the  distant  isles  ;  he  is  the  ransom  of  the  world ;  he  is 
thy  ransom,  oh  soul  that  believest  in  the  Son  of  God  !  He  who 
is  the  salvation  of  the  universe  is  mighty  for  thy  salvation.  He 
whom  the  Hhidoo,  the  savage  of  Labrador,  the  negro  of  Africa, 
the  islander  of  Tahiti,  joyfully  proclaim  as  their  Saviour,  is  thy  Sa- 
viour, by  the  same  title  as  theirs  :  For  as  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in 
Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive.  There  is  therefore  now  no  condemnation 
to  them  ivhich  are  in  Christ  Jesus. 

Oh  !  what  glorious  tidings  !  Shall  we  say  it  to  others  without 
repeating  it  to  ourselves  .'  Shall  we  scatter  far  from  us  the  pre- 
cious gold  of  faith,  and  shall  we  ourselves  remain  empty  and 
poor  ?  Shall  we  open  to  others  the  gates  of  glory,  and  shut  them 
against  ourselves, "  without  entering  in  ?"  Let  us  believe  unto  sal- 
vation ;  let  us  believe  it  for  ourselves ;  "  Let  us  bring  forth  fruit  for 
repentance."  "  Let  us  become  the  children  of  God  !"  let  us  become 
"  new  creatures ;"  and  may  the  celestial  spirit,  which  makes  "  the 
solitary  place  to  blossom  and  flourish  like  the  rose,"  vivify  our  own 
hearts  and  cause  us  to  "  bring  forth  fruit  unto  God." 

Lord  !  Has  this  preaching  of  the  Gospel  which  I  would  carry  to 
the  heathen,  been  received  and  believed  in  my  own  soul  .>  Re- 
pentance and  remission  of  sins,  which  I  would  proclaim  to  distant 
races,  have  they  been  preached  in  my  own  house  .'  And  has  thy 
kingdom,  Avliich  now  extends  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  been  es- 
tablished in  my  heart.'  Lord,  may  rirv  kingdom  come;  may  it  reign 
within,  may  it  reign  without !  Amen  !  Amen  ! 
6 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  PROTESTANTISM, 


ARE  THEY 


TWO  DISTINCT  THINGS? 


TRANSLATED  BY  M.  M    BACKUS. 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  PROTESTANTISM. 


FROM  THE  "  ARCHIVES  DU  CHRISTIANISME,"  August,  1827. 


It  is  time. — Psalm  cxix.  126. 

There  has  arisen,  in  process  of  time,  a  new  adversary  against  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ.  There  sprang  up  in  the  last  century,  a 
kind  of  Protestantism,  with  which  neither  the  Luthers  nor  the  Cal- 
vins,  neither  the  DreUncourts  nor  the  Dumouhns,  neither  the  Mor- 
nays  nor  the  Claudes,  have  ever  been  acquainted :  abastard,  gene- 
rated by  that  union,  Avliich  erratic  spirits  have  pretended  to  effect 
between  the  Gospel  and  the  philosophy  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
By  an  able  stratagem,  they  seek  to  substitute  this  feeble  and  coun- 
terfeit child  of  an  unbelieving  age,  for  the  healthy  and  powerful  d  oc- 
trine  which  issued  forth  for  the  salvation  of  ihe  world,  from  the 
times  of  the  Apostles  and  Reformers.  If  we  do  not  approve  of  the 
substitution,  if  we  do  not  recognize  this  intruder  for  the  religion 
bequeathed  us  by  our  fathers,  its  patrons  cry  out  intolerance,  mys- 
ticism, enthusiasm;  or  what  more  .' — perhaps  innovation! 

Neither  the  Reformers,  nor  any  of  those  who  have  Avalked  in 
their  illustrious  steps,  have  ever  known  any  other  Protestantism 
than  Christianity  ;  but  the  fathers  and  protectors  of  the  system  that 
we  notice,  think  not  so  ;  we  speak  it  with  sentiments  of  deep  grief, 
but  we  can  no  longer  keep  silence  on  a  subject  which  everywhere 
presents  itself  to  our  minds.  Instead  of  allowing  Protestantism  to 
be  Christianity,  all  Christianity,  and  nothing  but  Christianity,  they 
have  made  of  it  a  separate  being,  which  is  neither  this  nor  that, 
neither  religion  nor  philosophy,  neither  faith  nor  incredulity. 
This  pretended  Protestantism  issues  forth  from  the  camp  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  raises  an  independent  standard  ;  an  unfaithful  deserter, 
it  still  pretends  to  mingle  the  colors  of  the  Prince  of  Life  with 
those  of  this  world's  wisdom  ;  but  it  is  only  under  the  latter  that 
it  rallies,  the  other  being  found  there  only  for  convenience  and  by 
mistake.  In  its  hands  Protestantism  becomes  a  separate  idol,  to 
which  they  offer  the  homage  due  only  to  the  Lord,  drawing  thus 
upon  the  work  of  its  hands  and  itself  the  adoration  which  belongs 
only  to  God.  We  do  not  fear  to  say,  that  this  kind  of  view  is  a 
revival  of  the  errors  of  Rome  ;  it  is  Papacy  under  other  colors. 
With  what  do  we  reproach  Roman  Catholicism .'    With  having 


126  CHRISTIANITY  AND  PROTESTANTISM. 

left  Christianity  and  formed  a  new  being.  The  same  thing  is 
repeated.  To  the  idol  of  Rome  another  idol  is  opposed  ;  idol  for 
idol,  the  one  may  be  worth  a  little  more  than  the  other ;  but  cer- 
tainly, we  do  not  think  we  have  gained  much  by  the  change. 
"  And  we  know  that  the  Son  of  God  is  come,  and  hath  given  us 
an  understanding,  that  we  may  know  him  that  is  true,  and  we  are 
in  him  that  is  true,  even  in  his  Son  Jesus  Christ.  This  is  the  true 
God  and  eternal  life.     Little  children,  keep  yourselves  from  idols."* 

Besides,  there  is  nothing  astonishing  in  all  this  ;  we  ought  to 
expect  it.  If  Phariseeism  has  taken  a  body  under  the  triple  crown, 
Sadduceeism,  the  second  vice  of  human  nature,  ought  also  to  seek 
to  assume  some  form  ;  but  we  shall  do  our  duty,  we  shall  not 
leave  it  to  rest  quietly  m  our  midst ;  we  shall  raise  our  voice  so 
that  it  may  be  constrained  to  fly  and  hide  far  from  our  churches 
its  shameful  infidelity. 

Our  business  now  is  not  with  those  who  are  in  error,  but  with 
the  errors  themselves.  As  to  the  defenders  of  those  errors,  we 
recognize  among  them  not  only  many  of  distinguished  and  undis- 
puted talents,  but  we  also  believe  their  intentions  are  much 
better  than  their  system.  They  do  not  suspect  the  mortal  blows 
which  they  are  giving  to  our  churches  ;  they  do  not  know  that  the 
dry  Avind  which  arose  in  the  vast  desert  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
and  whose  breath  appears  so  agreeable  to  them,  will  cause 
vegetation  to  cease,  and  will  strike  with  barrenness  the  ^vhole 
field  of  the  Lord.  Their  views  are  perhaps  limited ;  their  inten- 
tions are  perhaps  praiseworthy  ;  they  are  urged  on  by  that  unfor- 
titnate  desire  which  has  already  worked  so  much  evil  to  the 
Church,  while  desiring  its  good,  and  against  which  Jesus  with 
such  earnestness  has  warned  his  disciples ;  the  desire  of  recon- 
ciling the  spirit  of  the  world  with  the  spirit  of  the  gospel — the 
spirit  of  the  age  with  the  spirit  of  immutable  and  eternal  wisdom. 
They  think  that  by  harmonizing  the  wisdom  oft  he  world  and  the 
wisdom  of  God,  the  great  secret  will  be  discovered  ;  they  regard 
themselves  as  called  upon  to  accomplish  this  great  design. 
Doubtless  they  think  in  this  Avay  to  effect  good  for  the  ivorld,  and 
good  for  the  Church ;  but  what  happens  .'  They  strongly  resemble 
him  who,  in  order  to  cure  a  person  attacked  with  a  fatal  malady, 
should  pretend  that  he  must  begin  by  communicating  to  the 
physician  the  disease  of  the  sick  man,  mstead  of  making  the  sick 
man  take  the  remedy  of  the  physician.  What  ^would  be  the 
result .'  They  would  both  die.  These  are  quite  different  proceedings 
from  those  revealed  to  us  by  the  Word  of  God  ;  it  knows  nothing  of 
the  petty  expedients  of  human  wisdom  ;  it  says  : — I  will  destroy  the 
wisdom  of  the  wise,  and  will  bring  to  naught  the  vmderstanding 
of  the  prudent.  Where  is  the  wise  ?  Where  is  the  scribe .' 
Where  is  the  disputer  of  this  world  .'  Hath  not  God  made  foolish 
the  wisdom  of  this  world  ?t  Those  who  do  not  fear  these  words, 
and  who  wish  to  comprehend  them,  may  comprehend  them. 
Is  Protestantism  anything  else  than  Christianity  ?    Is  it  a  modified 

*  1  John  V.  20-2L  t  1  Cor.  i.  19,  20. 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  PROTESTANTISM.  l27 

Christianity,  having  certain  attributes  not  possessed  by  primitive 
Christianity .'  Perhaps  this  question  is  not  quite  plain.  We 
would  ask  you,  then,  do  these  words,  Christ ianiiij,  Catholicism,* 
Protestantism,  cause  three  distinct  ideas  to  arise  in  your  mind  ?  Ic 
is  i^TObable  they  do.  In  this  case,  in  our  opinion,  yon  are  wrong  ; 
these  three  words  are  only  two  things, — Christianity  and  Protestant- 
ism being  two  expressions  to  signify  the  same  thing.  Properly 
speaking,  there  is  no  Protestantism  ;  Christianity  is  sufficient 
for  us.  Protestantism  is  revived  Christianity — but  revived  abso- 
kitely  sucli  as  it  was.  We  do  not  see  why,  after  his  resurrection, 
one  ought  to  be  re-baptized.  Lazarus  was,  and  called  himself, 
Lazarus  after,  as  before  his  resurrection.  It  is  unfortunate  that  a 
new  denomination  was  given  to  the  reformed  religion  in  the  six- 
teenth century  ;  we  think  it  would  have  been  better  to  liave  called 
it  simply  Christianity,  or  even  Catholicism,  in  opposition  to  the 
Church  of  the  Pope.  But  as  names  are  only  names,  and  words 
are  only  words,  we  will  leave  them  as  they  are,  and  will  content 
ourselves  with  protesting  against  tlie  idea — against  the  thing. 

We  declare,  tlien,  with  ail  the  reformers,  that  Protestantism  is 
Christianity,  neither  more  nor  less ;  all,  that  tends  to  make  of  it 
anything  else,  with  particular  colors,  with  principles  which  are 
peculiar  to  it,  and  still  more  strange  doctrines,  are  the  v,)inatural , 
since  these  remove  it  so  far  from  Christianity,  that  is  to  say,  from 
itself. 

Is  it  necessary  to  cite  here  passages  from  our  reformers  to  prove 
that  they  never  pretended  to  form  a  new  Church,  but  simply  to 
re-establish  the  old  one  .'  I  think  we  all  know,  that  this  would 
be  to  cite  their  whole  worlts,  for  this  is  the  principle  which  they 
constantly  set  forth.  Ought  w^e  to  be  astonished,  however,  if  the 
powerful  hand  of  these  great  men  of  God  is  impressed,  perhaps  a 
little  strongly,  on  their  works,  in  such  a  way  that  human  traces 
are  to  be  perceived  by  the  side  of  divine  ones;  and  if  the  reform- 
ed churches  have  somewhat  forgotten,  if  not  during  the  lifetime 
of  the  Reformers,  at  least  shortly  after,  that  they  were  anything  but 
a  continuation,  a  I'epetition  of  the  first  churches  of  Jesus  ?  Glory 
be  ascribed,  notwithstanding,  to  the  Protestant  Churches,  or 
rather  to  Him  who  preserved  them,  this  tendency  of  derivation  Avas 
imperceptible  ;  they  were  truly  redeemed  Churches.  But  the  evil 
which  has  been  suppressed  shines  forth,  especially  in  our  days  ; 
in  our  days  the  abomination  has  been  introduced  into  the  sanc- 
tuary, and  an  idol  has  been  made  of  Protestantism.  But  as  Paul 
and  Barnabas  rent  their  clothes  before  the  jiagans  who  wished  to 
sacrifice  to  them,  so  Protestantism  rejects  with  indignation  these 
sacrilegious  honors :  it  declares  that  it  is  nothing  in  itself,  and 
attributing  all  honor  to  that  Gospel  which  is  the  power  of  God 
unto  salvation  to  every  one  which  believeth,  it  exclaims — Salva- 
tion to  our  God  which  sitteth  u])on  the  tlirone,  and  to  the  Lamb. 

We  think  the  period  has  arrived,  in  which  the  slight  human 

*  We  use  the  word  Catholicism  not  in  its  true  sense,  but  in  the  narrow 
sense,  which  is  usually  given  to  it  in  conversation,  meaning  the  Church  of 
Rome. 


128  CHRISTIANITY  AND  PROTESTANTISM. 

foot-prints,  necessarily  imposed  upon  the  worlc  of  the  reformers, 
ought  to  be  effaced  ;  in  which  Protestant  Churches  ought  every- 
where to  become  solely  Christian  churches,  placing  themselves 
above  Rome,  not  simply  opposite  to  her,  seizing  the  sceptre  of 
catholicity,  and  banishing  popery  into  the  obscurity  which  belongs 
to  it.  Protestant  Churches  !  let  us  seat  ourselves  on  the  twelve 
thrones  of  the  apostles;  let  us  proclaim  and  show  ourselves  the 
hereditary  Churches  of  the  Apostolic  Churches  of  Jerusalem, "Anti- 
och,  Ephesus,  Philippi,  Rome.  Let  us  seek  our  armor  whence  Apos- 
tolic men  drew  theirs ;  that  arsenal  which  is  of  so  much  more 
avail  than  that  of  the  philosophy  of  the  world.  The  time  may 
not  be  distant  when  the  Saviour  will  gather  together  the  people : 
let  us  stand  forth,  as  did  our  primitive  brethren,  to  be  the  instruments 
of  his  mercy ;  this  is  a  greater,  a  nobler  task,  than  to  form  an 
imaginary  mixture  of  the  faith  of  the  Gospel  and  of  the  unbelief 
of  the  present  age. 

Perhaps  some  one  may  say,  It  is  erroneous  to  pretend  that  Pro- 
testantism is  anything  but  Christianity ;  it  is  undoubtedly  Chris- 
tianity, but  Christianity  with  a  protest  against  Rome  ;  it  is  under 
some  points  of  view  a  thing  by  itself ;  this  new  situation  gives  it 
a  new  character,  new  duties  ;  in  a  word,  renders  it,  in  some  re- 
spects, decidedly  different  from  primitive  Christianity. 

To  this  ^ve  reply ;  if  Protestantism  is  nothing  else  than 
Christianity,  then  Christianity  has  been  nothing  from  the  begin- 
ning but  Protestantism.  Has  it  not  always  protested  against 
Rome,  and  is  not  this  one  of  its  essential  features  .'  Has  there  been 
an  age  in  which  the  Church  was  not  tilled  with  Protestants  1  'Was 
not  St.  Paul  a  good  protestant,  when  in  a  prophetic  tone  he  wrote 
to  the  Church  of  Rome,  If  thou  boastest  thyself  thou  shalt  be  cut  off!* 
or  when  he  wrote  to  Timothy :  in  the  latter  times  some  shall  depart 
from  the  faith,  giving  heed  to  seducing  spirits  a,nd  doctrines  of  devils  ; 
forbidding  to  marry  and  commanding  to  abstain  from  meats,  etc  .'f  Was 
not  St.  John  a  Protestant,  when,  seeing  the  woman  seated  upon  seven 
mountains  and  arrayed  in  purple  and  scarlet,  he  called  her,  "  the  great 
Babylon,  the  mother  of  harlots  and  the  abominations  of  the 
earth,  "t 

Was  not  Polycarp,  bishop  of  Smyrna,  the  disciple  of  St.  John, 
a  Protestant,  when  he  refused  to  celebrate  Easter  like  Anicetus, 
bishop  of  Rome,— placing  before  him  the  example  of  the  beloved 
disciple,  who  served  him  as  a  guide  .'§  Were  not  all  the  churches 
of  Asia  Minor  Protestant,  when,  caring  little  for  the  proud  preten- 
sions of  Victor,  bishop  of  Rome,  they  quietly  opposed  to  him  the 
doctrines  estabhshed  in  their  apostolic  seats,  sedes  apostoUca  1\\  Was 
not  Irenccus,  bishop  of  Rome,  a  Protestant,  when  he  rebuked 
Victor, — reproaching  him  with  his  anti-Christian  proceedings, 
which  were  unknown  to  his  predecessors  .'H  Was  not  Cyprian, 
bishop  of  Carthage,  a  Protestant,  when  he  established,  with  so 
much  force,  the  independence  of  the  bishops,  and  accomplished 

*  Romans  xi.  20-22.  t  1  Tim.  iv.  1,  etc. 

X  Rev.  xvii.     Rome  is  built,  as  everybody  knows,  upon  seven  hills. 

^  The  year  162.     H  The  years  190  and  196.    H  Eusebius,  Lib.  5,  cap  24. 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  PROTESTANTISM.  129 

that  which  he  thought  right,  in  spite  of  the  opposition  of  Rome  ? 
When  writing,  in  his  own  and  in  the  name  of  the  synod,  to 
Stephanus,'bishop  of  Rome,  concerning  a  point  in  which  he  differed 
from  him,  he  spoke  to  him  as  a  colleague,  possessing  the  same 
right  and  dignity  with  himself,  saying :  "  By  virtue  of  the  honor 
which  is  common  to  us,  and  of  the  love  we  have  for  thee,  we  have 
thought  it  our  duty  to  communicate  to  thee  these  things,  believing 
that  that  which  is  conformable  to  truth  and  piety  Avill  please 
thee  in  like  manner,  agreeably  to  thy  love  of  truth,  very  dear 
brother !  Besides,  we  well  know  that  there  are  those  who  do  not 
wish  to  cast  away  opinions  which  they  have  once  received,  and 
who  do  not  readily  change  their  sentiments,  but  who,  without 
prejudicing  the  bonds  of  peace  and  concord,  which  ought  to  unite 
colleagues,  preserve  certain  things  that  are  peculiar  to  themselves, 
which  have  been  once  established  among  them.  We  do  no  violence, 
and  give  no  laws  to  persons  in  such  things ;  "  for  whosoever  is 
set  over  a  Church,  of  his  own  free  will,  need  render  an  account  of 
his  actions  only  to  God."*  s- 

And  after  the  violent  declarations  of  Stephen,  was  not  this  same 
Cyprian  a  Protestant,  and  as  much  of  a  Protestant  as  Luther  or 
Calvin,  or  ourselves,  when,  chiding  the  errors  of  the  Roman 
bishop,  whom  he  accused  of  sustaining  the  cause  of  heretics 
against  Christians,  of  saying  contradictory  things,  etc.  (quo  lecto 
magis  ac  magis  ejus  errorem  denotabis,  qua  hoereticorum  causam  contra 
Christianas  ct  contra  Ecclesiam  Dei  asserere  conatur.  Nam  inter  catera 
vel  supcrba,  vel  ad  rem  non  pertincntia,  vel  sibi  ipsi  contraria,  qiuB 
imperite  atque  improvide  scripsit,  etc.),  he  adds  respecting  that 
which  Stephen  called /tomon  traditions:  "  From  whence  does  this 
tradition  come  ?  Is  it  derived  from  the  words  of  the  Lord,  and  the 
authority  of  the  Gospel .'  Does  it  proceed  from  the  doctrines  and 
epistles  of  the  apostles :"  What  obstinacy  and  presumption  to 
place  human  tradition  before  the  divine  comma)Hls,  and  to  think  that 
God  is  not  angry  whenever  human  tradition  destroys  the  divine 
precepts,  as  the  Saviour  has  said  in  the  Gospel.  "  For  laying  aside 
the  commandments  of  God,  ye  hold  the  traditions  of  men."  The 
usages  which  are  introduced  among  some,  cannot  hinder  truth 
from  prevailing,  and  bearing  off  the  victory ;  for  usage  without 
truth  is  only  a  worn-out  error  {nam  consuctudo  sine  veritate,  vetustas 
erroris  est) ;  therefore  forsake  error  and  follow  truth,  knowing  that 
truth  will  achieve  the  victory,  as  it  is  written :  truth  dwells,  and 
lives  for  ever.  If  we  but  return  to  the  source  and  origin  of  the 
divine  tradition,  human  error  ceases.  If  an  aqueduct  which 
formerly  gave  water  in  abundance,  suddenly  fails,  do  we  not  go 
back  to  the  source  to  discover  the  cause,  to  see  if  the  veins  have 
been  dried  up,  or  the  source  itself  has  been  exhausted,  or,  if 
running  from  the  source  as  freely  as  before,  to  see  if  the  water 

*  Qua  in  re  nee  nos  vim  cuiguam  farimus,  aut  legem  damns :  cum  habet  in 
Ecciesice  administraiione  voluntatis  suw  arbitrium  libcrum  tmusquisque  proposi- 
tus, ratiomm  actus  sui  Domino  ?crffto<»-MS  ( Cypr.,  Epist.  71  ad  Stephanum). 
It  is  to  the  bishop  of  Rome  that  Cyprian  writes,  no  one  need  render  an 
account  of  his  actions  only  to  God !  Uthxam  ubiqut ! 
6* 


130  CHRISTIANITY  AND  PROTESTANTISM. 

has  been  stopped  in  its  course  ?  And  if  it  happens  that  the  aque- 
duct drinks  up  the  water,  or  that  it  is  broken  in  the  centre,  is  it 
not  immediately  repaired ,  so  that  the  water  may  flow  in  its  channel, 
for  the  use  of  the  town,  as  abundantly  as  it  flows  from  its  source  ? 
We  see  in  this  the  duty  of  the  ministers  of  God,  charged  with  the 
preservation  of  the  divine  precepts.  If  the  truth  has  been  corrupt- 
ed, and  has  wavered  in  anything,  let  us  return  to  the  origin  of 
the  Lord,  and  of  the  Gospel — to  the  tradition  of  the  apostles,  etc.* 
We  despair  of  finding  the  principles  of  Protestantism  more  clearly 
expressed  in  the  writings  of  Luther  and  of  Calvin,  than  in 
this  passage  of  Cyprian.  Who  can  say  after  this,  that  Cyprian 
was  not  a  Protestant  ?  Finally,  was  not  the  bishop  Firmilian  of 
Csesarea,  in  Cappadocia,  a  Protestant,  who  accused  Stephen,  the 
bishop  of  Rome,  of  rending  the  unity  of  the  Church  by  his  con- 
duct— full  of  ambition  and  bitterness  ;  and  who  opposed  to  the 
pretended  tradition  of  the  Roman  Church,  the  tradition  of  the 
most  ancient  churches^  and  likewise  many  dogmatic  proofs  ;  and 
who  showed  that  the  Romans  did  not  retain  the  primitive  tradition, 
and  appealed  in  vain  to  the  authority  of  the  apostles,  since  in  so 
many  things  they  departed  from  the  usage  of  the  Church  of 
Jerusalem,  and  of  other  ancient  apostolic  churches  ?  Is  it  neces- 
sary to  quote  here  all  the  Protestants  of  following  ages,  who  in- 
creased in  numbers  and  strength  in  proportion  as  the  usurpations 
of  Rome  multiplied  ?  Yes !  since  Protestantism  is  even  now  nothing 
but  Christianity ;  so,  likewise,  it  has  never  been  anything  else  than 
Christianity.  We  do  not  wish  to  be  better  Protestants  than  John 
or  Paul !  We  do  not  think  we  have  dwelt  too  long  on  this  point, 
for  it  is  equally  important  to  prove  this  point  to  the  Romanists, 
and  to  the  innovators  :  both  must  knoAv  that  there  is  not  a  Christi- 
anity and  a  Protestantism,  but  that  they  are  one  and  the  same ;  that 
truth  is  not  divided  into  many  distinct  beings,  but  that  she  is,  from 
the  begimiing  of  time  to  the  end  of  the  world,  one  and  indivisible. 
Farther,  it  must  be  observed,  that  this  new  Protestantism,  which 
seeks  to  be  introduced  in  place  of  the  old,  is  in  effect  different  from 
Christianity  ;  in  some  respects,  it  is  even  totally  opposed  to  it.  It 
has  preserved  but  a  shigle  feature  of  true  Protestantism ;  but 
making  Protestantism  to  consist  almost  exclusively  of  this  feature, 
it  has,  in  so  doing,  rendered  it  not  easily  recognized.  Freedom  of 
examination,  which  we  have  sufficiently  defended  on  all  occasions, 
and  are  still  ready  to  maintain  against  and  towards  all,  is  the 
feature  to  which  we  allude.  This  imprescriptible  right  of  man 
and  of  Christians,  which  is  absolutely  necessary  to  attain  religion, 
but  which  (in  the  present  age  it  ought  to  be  proclaimed  on  the 
house-tops)  is  not  religion  itself,  but  is  the  Gospel  of  this  ne"w  sect, 
is  the  burden  of  all  their  writings,  and  they  speak  of  it  w  ith  as  much 
enthusiasm  as  ever  St.  Paul  spoke  of  the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ.  They 
take  the  scaffolding,  necessary  to  the  construction  of  an  edifice,  for 
the  edifice  itself — the  disputed  right  of  those  who  wish  to  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God,  for  the  precious  and  eternal  privileges 
of  those  who  are  already  within  it. 

*  Cypr.,  Epist,  74  ad  Pbmpeium  contra  Epistolam  Stephani. 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  PROTESTANTISM.  131 

No !  in  vain  would  ihey  build  this  new  Protestantism  on  the 
ruins  of  the  old  Protestantism  ;  no  one  would  recognize  it  as  the 
true  one.  It  is  not  sufficient  to  take  a  part  of  the  antique  and 
venerable  temple,  whatever  trouble  they  may  give  themselves  to 
adorn  it  with  new  ornaments ;  it  must  be  taken  entire.  If  they 
have  only  a  part,  they  have  nothing.  What  would  be  said  of 
persons  who,  wishing  to  construct  a  new  |house,  in  place  of  an- 
other which  appeared  to  them  out  of  fashion,  should  erect  only  a 
door,  only  an  entrance,  and  then  exclaim :  come  and  see  with 
Avhat  skill  we  have  constructed  a  beautiful  edifice  in  place  of  the 
old  house,  which  was  only  fit  for  an  ignorant  age  !  Yes,  is  the 
reply,  but  we  could  seat  ourselves  in  the  old  house,  but  in  yours 
there  is  notlihig  upon  which  to  repose  ;  the  old  house  afforded  us 
a  shelter  from  the  wind  and  rain,  but,  alas  !  you  have  provided 
nothing  to  protect  us  from  the  tempests.  So  is  it  with  this  new 
religion;  its  fa§ade  is  superb ;  philosophy  and  literature  are  ex- 
hausted for  its  embellishment,  but  behold  all  !  Oh  ye  Avho  are 
weary  and  heavy  laden !  there  is  nothing  here  to  give  rest  to 
your  souls  ;  Oh  ye,  Avho  are  pursued  by  the  shadows  of  life, 
you  will  not  find  here  that  refuge  Vv^hich  is  necessary  for  you, 
the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High,  where  one  shall  dwell  in  the 
shadow  of  the  Almighty.*  We  are  reminded  of  that  faithful  soul, 
who,  ongoing  out  from  listening  to  the  discourse  of  one  of  the 
adepts  in  this  new  religion,  said  :  I  was  hungry  and  you  gave  mc  no 
meat,  thirsti/  and  ye  gave  me  no  drink. 

And  after  all,  what  is  this  liberty  of  investigation,  concerning 
which  there  is  so  much  boasting  .'  Certainly  it  is  not  of  the  genuine 
stamp,  and  we  do  not  see  that  it  can  even  lead  to  much  good.  As  far 
removed  from  Christianity  as  is  the  Church  of  Rome  with  its  in- 
supportable authority,  so  far  removed  is  the  pretended  Protestant- 
ism that  we  oppose,  with  its  examination,  in  which  it  takes  away 
all  means  of  examination.  God  who  knows  man,  his  nature,  his 
wants,  the  limits  of  his  intelligence,  has  in  his  infinite  love  pro- 
vided for  his  weakness;  he  has  aimed  to  come  to  his  assistance; 
he  has  declared  that  he  himself  Avould  be  his  guide,  his  interpre- 
ter, his  light,  his  true  friend  in  the  examination  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures. There  is  no  promise  more  clear,  more  consoling,  none 
dearer  to  the  children  of  God  in  the  divine  Word.  How  many  are 
there  now  among  7nen  of  Ictterx  and  among  the  unlettered,  of  whom 
the  prophet  Isaiah  speaks  in  the  29th  chapter,  10 — 12,  saying: 
"  For  the  Lord  hath  poured  out  upon  you  the  spirit  of  deep  sleep, 
and  hath  closed  your  eyes;  the  prophets  and  yourrulers,  the  seers 
hath  he  covered.  And  the  vision  of  all  is  become  unto  you  as  the 
words  of  a  book  that  is  sealed,  which  men  deliver  to  one  that  is 
learned,  saying.  Read  this,  I  pray  thee :  and  he  saith,  I  cannot ; 
for  it  is  sealed  :  And  the  book  is  delivered  to  him  that  is  not 
learned,  saying.  Read  this,  I  pray  thee:  and  he  saith,  I  am  not 
learned  1"  Thus  there  are  always  men  in  all  ranks,  of  different  de- 
grees of  mental  culture,  who  have  well  turned  and  re-turncd,  and 
examined  on  all  sides  the  Holy  Scriptures  ;  they  do  not  understand 

*  Psalm  xci.  1. 


132  CHRISTIANITY  AND  PROTESTANTISM. 

them  because  they  are  as  a  sealed  book  to  them.  But  ever  blessed 
be  the  God  of  our  salvation  !  He  has  declared  that  he  himself  will 
unseal  this  book,  and  will  open  the  eyes  of  the  hnmble  and  the 
poor,  so  that  whosoever  will  address  himself  to  Him,  shall  see ;  he 
shall  see  that  which  he  never  would  have  seen,  had  he  remained 
alone.  And  the  deaf  (adds  the  prophet  in  the  same  chapter,  18 — 
19)  shall  hear  the  words  of  the  book,  and  the  eyts  of  the  blind  shall  see  out 
of  obscurity,  and  out  of  darkness.  The  meek  also  shall  increase  their  joy 
in  the  Lord,  and  the  poor  among  men  sluill  rejoice  in  the  Holy  One  of 
Israel.  Especially  are  these  promises  of  assistance  to  men  in  their 
search  after  truth,  and  for  understanding  of  the  Scriptures,  re- 
peated in  holy  Scripture.  The  Lord  said  to  the  Messiah  in  the 
same  prophecy :  I  will  give  thee  for  a,  covenant  of  the  people,  for  a  tight 
of  the  Gentiles;  to  open  the  blind  eyes.  And  I  unll  bring  the  blind 
by  a  way  that  they  kneiv  not ;  I  tvill  lend  them  in  paths  that  they  have  riot, 
known:  I  will  make  darkness  light  before  THEM,anrf  crooked  things 
straight;  these  things  ivill  I  do  unto  tJiem  and  not  forsake  them.  Jere- 
miah announces  the  nature  of  the  new  covenant  that  he  predicts  : 
"  I  will  put  my  law  in  their  inward  parts,  and  write  it  in  their 
HEARTS,  and  will  be  their  God  and  they  shall  be  my  people.  And 
they  shall  teach  no  more  every  man  his  neighbor,  and  every  man 
his  brother,  saying,  Know  the  Lord :  for  they  shall  all  know  me 
from  the  least  of  them  unto  the  greatest  of  them,  saith  the  Lord" 
The  Saviour  of  the  world  himself  says :  Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given 
you  ;  seek,  arid  i/e  shall  find ;  knock,  and  it  shall  he  opened  unto  you.  If  ye 
then,  being  evil,  know  hoiv  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  children,  how 

MUCH  MORE  shall  YOUR  HeAVENLY  FaTHER  GIVE  THE  HoLY  SPIRIT  TO 

THEM  THAT  ASK  HIM  .'*  Ill  St.  John,  lie  rencws  these  promises  in 
the  most  positive  manner :  The  Comforter  lohich  is  the  Holy  Ghost, 
whom  the  Father  will  send  in  my  name,  he  shall  teach  you  all 
THiNGS.f  But  when  he,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  is  come,  he  will  guide 
you  into  all  TRUTH.  He  shall  glorify  me  :  for  he  shall  receive  of  mine, 
and  shall  show  it  unto  you.  In  the  Gospel,  we  see  Jesus  himself 
acting  upon  his  disciples,  Avho  had  been  with  him  already  three 
years,  to  enlighten  their  minds  yet  darkened,  as  are  the  minds  of 
men  by  nature,  that  they  might  understand  the  Scriptures:  Then 
opened  he  their  understanding,  that  they  might  understand  the  Scriptures.X 
And  the  apostle  Paul,  who  had  experienced  with  the  faithful  at 
Corinth,  the  efficacy  of  these  precious  promises,  in  speaking  to 
them  of  the  things  of  salvation,  of  the  counsels  of  God,  contained 
in  the  Scriptures,  and  whose  search  ought  to  be  the  object  of 
Christian  examination,  said  :  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither 
have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man,  the  things  vAich  God  hath  prepared 
for  them  that  love  him.  But  God  hath  revealed  them  unto  us  by 
HIS  Spirit;  for  the  Spirit  searcheth  all  things,  yea  the  deep  things 
of  God.  Now  Ave  have  received  not  the  spirit  of  the  world,  but  the 
Spirit  which  is  of  God ;  that  we  might  know  the  things  that  are 
freely  given  to  US  OF  God.     But  the  natural^  man  receiveth  not  the 

*  Luke  xi.  9 — 13.  t  John  xiv.  26.  J  Luke  xxiv.  45. 

§  Our  French  translations  appear  to  me  to  be  very  defective  here ;  they 
have  adopted  the  intei-pretation  of  the  Vulgate,  which  translates  animahs 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  PROTESTANTISM.  133 

things  of  the  Spirit  of  God :  for  tkeij  are  foolishness  unto  him  ;  neither 
can  he  know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned;  but  he  that  in 
spiritual  judgeth  all  things. 

Now  this  new  Protestantism  passes  by  the  illumination  of  the 
Holy  Spirit ;  it  is  ignorant,  or  feigns  to  be  ignorant,  of  all  these 
promises  of  our  God— constantly  calling  upon  men  to  examine 
with  their  reason  alone, — with  its  imperfections,  its  limited  facul- 
ties, its  ignorance ;  without  dependence  on  and  invocation  of  the 
Spirit  of  God.  It  does  not  perceive  that  reason  is  a  glass,  which 
it  is  necessary  to  employ,  it  is  true,  but  it  is  a  glass  dimmed  by 
the  breath  of  sin,  and  that  it  must  ficst  be  made  clear  before  we 
can  see  well  by  its  means  {that  God  may  enlighten  the  eyes  of  your 
understanding,  is  the  expression  of  St.  Paul),  and  that  God,  the 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, — the  Spirit  of  wisdom  and  of 
revelation,  can  alone  do  this.  Thus  it  deprives  the  faithful  of  the 
succor  that  God,  in  his  infinite  wisdom,  had  designed  for  them; 
it  separates  them  from  their  God  ;  it  isolates  them;  it  leaves  them 
in  their  weakness ; — in  their  darkness  ;  it  exalts  that  pride  which 
should  be  destroyed.  What  shall  I  say  !  Oh  !  blindness,  which 
causes  the  Christian  soul  to  tremble  !  It  lifts  itself  up  against  the 
holy  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  and  calls  the  promises  and  commands 
of  otir  God  enthusiasm,  mysticism  !  "  They  be  blind  leaders  of  the 
blind,"  says  the  Saviour,  "  and,  if  the  blind  lead  the  blind,  they  shall 
both  fall  into  the  ditch." 

What  would  result  from  this,  but  that  man,  left  to  himself,  would 
fashion  a  doctrine  entirely  different  in  effect  from  Christianity  .' 

We  shall  not  ^^ause  here  to  pa.«s  in  review  the  different  funda- 
mental doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion,  by  dwelling  at  length 
on  each  one  of  them.  We  have  before  us  the  assurance  that 
there  is  not  one  of  these  doctrines  which  this  new  Protestantism  has 
not  either  corrupted  or  rejected  ;  many  of  its  doctrines  it  has  even 
attacked  with  cimiity ;  and  a  rapid  glance  will  suffice  to  show 
that  the  Protestantism  which  exists  apart  from  Christianity,  differs, 
in  fact,  entirely  from  it. 

homo.  I  prefer  the  English  and  German  translations,  which  render  it  the 
natural  man.  "O  t//UTy'uo?,  says  the  Greek:  that  is,  literally,  the  man  of  the 
soul;  that  is  to  say,  man  with  his  soul  and  the  faculties  with  which  it  is 
endowed  in  its  natural  and  unregenerated  state;  and  the  man,  xpvy^tKOi,  is  put 
in  opposition  to  the  man  CTm/ian/cof,  that  is  to  say,  the  man  enlightened  by  the 
Ti'tT'/za.  the  Spirit  of  God,  the  spiritual  man.  The  word  animal  being  doubtless 
derived  from  the  Latin  o«i»ia,  soul,  the  French  translation  may  have  appeared 
the  most  literal.  But  the  word  animal  is  taken  in  so  different  an  acceptation 
in  the  French  language,  that  such  a  translation  involves  a  great  error;  this 
is  proved  by  the  blunder  made  by  the  Academy  in  its  dictionary.  "  Animal," 
it  says,  "in  the  language  of  Scripture,  signifies  carnal,  sensual,  and  is  the 
opposite  of  spiritual,  i'  hommc  animal  nc  comprcnd  pas  ce  qui  est  dc  Dieu. 
But  the  Greek  word  rendered  here  by  animal,  ipvx'Kn?.  is  as  different  from 
canial,  (rafjKiKog,  as  in  French  dme  is  different  from  chair.  The  three  scrip- 
tural expressions,  !>'  nvcv^iaTiKOi,  iV  ipv^'^^^i,  ^  adfuuo?, designate  three  classes  of 
men  entirely  distinct ;  and  nothing  can  be  more  erroneous  than  to  make 
one  of  the  last  two.  A  distinction,  definition,  etc.,  etc.,  of  these  three  classes, 
would  give  us  the  scriptural  philosophy  of  human  nature.  We  may,  per- 
haps, return  to  this  subject  hereafter. 


134  CHRISTIANITY  AND  PROTESTANTISM. 

With  regard  to  the  fundamental  doctrine,  not  only  of  reUgion, 
but,  we  might  almost  say,  of  all  true  philosophy — the  doctrine  of 
the  corruption  of  man,  the  existence  of  evil  within  vis, — we  know  how 
the  new  Protestantism  treats  the  passage  on  this  subject,  and  that 
it  does  not  hesitate  to  say  that  the  declarations  of  Scripture  on  this 
point  are  but  the  figures  of  lyric  poetry.  This  idea  of  seeing  images 
and  figures  everywhere  is,  of  all  modes  invented  up  to  this  time, 
the  most  expeditious  for  putting  aside  Christianity.  There  are 
those  among  the  new  Protestants  of  Germany,  who  see,  in  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,  only  a  figure, — an  image.  We  must 
acknowledge  that  our  new^Protestants,  through  the  restraining 
grace  of  God,  have  not  yet  gone  so  far. 

Concerning  the  real  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  worship 
of  God  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  one  God,  blessed 
for  ever,  that  foundation  of  the  Christian  faith,  we  know  what 
these  iiew  Protestants  believe,  and  the  pretended  absurdities 
which  they,  in  common  with  all  unbelievers,  find  in  this  holy  and 
glorious  doctrine. 

Justification  by  faith  in  the  powerful  merits  of  the  great  Victim 
of  expiation,  offered  up  for  the  sinner  who  repents  and  believes, 
is  to  this  one-sided  Protestantism  a  scandal  and  a  folly.  It  main- 
tains, with  the  Romish  Church,  the  merit  of  works  ;  not  knowing 
that  truly  good  works  can  proceed  only  from  a  heart  touched  and 
regenerated  by  the  grace  of  God,  and  full  of  gratitude  and  love, 
and  that,  consequently,  the  best  method  of  rendering  all  good 
works  impossible,  is  just  to  hold  that  man  is  not  saved  by  grace 
alone,  but  jaartly  by  his  merits,  partly  by  the  works  of  the  law. 

Concerning  the  doctrine  of  regeneration,  of  the  new  birth  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  they  would  introduce  into  our  Reformed  Churches 
their  images  and  oriental  figures  ;  a  terra  incognita,  of  which  its 
patrons  imderstand  less  than  did  Nicodemus  when  Jesus  taught 
him  this  fundamental  truth  of  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  so  that  we 
miglit  say  to  some  of  them,  as  Jesus  said  to  the  Pharisee,  "  Art 
thou  a  master  in  Israel,  and  knowest  not  these  things  ?" 

HoAV  shall  we  give  even  a  passing  notice  of  the  crowd  of 
errors  which  flow  from  this  new  religion,  and  which  are  sought 
to  be  thrust  upon  Protestants  as  great  truths  ?  This  is  especially 
manifest  in  that  ■which  regards  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  ;  it  is 
there  that  they  move  in  thick  darkness.  We  will  attend  for  a 
moment  to  a  single  example. 

Unity  in  the  Church  of  Christ,  is  not  only  one  of  the  funda- 
mental doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  but  likewise  one  of  the  greatest 
benefits  promised  by  the  Saviour  to  his  people.  Jesus  himself, 
in  his  sacrificial  prayer,  had  invoked  this  unity  among  his  own, 
and  announced  it  unto  them  with  the  same  breath ;  this  could 
not  have  been  a  unity  to  exist  only  for  the  Apostles,  but  likewise 
for  all  who,  in  whatever  place  and  in  whatever  age,  should  be- 
lieve in  Christ  through  their  words.  "  Neither  pray  I  for  these 
alone  ;  but  for  them  also  which  shall  believe  on  me  through  their 
words  :  that  they  all  may  be  one,  as  thou  Father  art  in  me,  and 
I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us :  that  the  world  may 


CHRISTIANITY    AND    PROTESTANTISM.  135 

believe  that  thoii  hast  sent  me.  And  the  glory  which  thou  gav- 
est  me,  I  have  given  them,  that  they  may  be  one,  even  as  we  are 
one ;  I  in  them,  and  thou  in  me,  that  they  may  be  made  perfect 
in  UNITY."  And  would  not  this  request  of  the  Saviour,  made  at 
the  solemn  moment  when  he  was  about  to  make  his  voluntary 
expiation  for  the  sins  of  the  world,  be  accomplished  ?  The  Apos- 
tles speak  continually  of  this  tcnity  of  the  true  people  of  God  :  of 
all  those  who  are  tmlij,  and  not  in  name  only,  members  of  the 
body  of  Christ.  So  u-e,  say  they,  being  many,  are  one  body  in 
Christ.  For,  they  add,  by  one  Spirit  are  we  all  baptized  into  one 
body,  whether  we  be  Jews  or  Gentiles,  whether  we  are  bond  or 
free.  There  is  neither,  they  still  further  say,  Jeiu  nor  Greek,  there  is 
neither  bond  nor  free,  there  is  neither  male  nor  female,  ye  are  all  one  in 
Christ.  Endeavoring  to  keep  t/ie  unity  of  the  spirit  in  the  bond  of 
peace.  There  is  one  body  and  one  spirit,  even  as  yc  are  called  in  one 
hope  of  your  calling,  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  one  God,  and' 
Father  of  all.  These  words  are  explicit,  and  we  could  cite  many 
others  equally  so.  Now,  how  does  this  Protestantism,  which  is 
distinct  from  Christianity,  treat  this  unity  demanded  by  the  Prmce 
of  hfe  liimself  for  his  Church,  which  he  has  promised,  and  which 
the  holy  Apostles  have  proclaimed  .'  It  says,  that  unity  is  a  phi- 
losophic invention;  it  speaks  of  the  folly,  of  the  thirst,  oi  the  fury  of 
unity';  it  adds  that  despotism,  fanaticism,  tyranny,  exclusiveness, 
arbitrariness,  are  species  of  unity,  or  forms  of  unity,  or  means  of 
imity,  and  that  the  most  forcible  objections  which  human  rcasoi; 
can  conceive  may  be  urged  against  miity  :  that  it  is  absurd,  fatal, 
impossible  ;  such,  according  to  it,  is  the  doctrine  of  Protestantism. 
Having  placed  the  words  of  tiie  Lord  and  his  Apostles  side  by  side 
with  those  of  the  new  Protestantism,  there  remains  nothing  but  to 
keep  silence.  The  stones,  if  they  could,  would  cry  out.  We  cannot 
conceive  how  it  is  possible  so  entirely  to  put  away  the  Gospel, 
and  to  substitute  for  it  the  vain  dreams  of  the  imagination.  May 
the  time  be  far  distant  when  these  shall  be  the  doctrines  of  your 
Protestantism  !  True  Protestantism,  however,  casts  it  far  from 
her.  To  the  Law,  and  to  the  Testimony  !  if  they  speak  not  ac- 
cording, it  is  because  there  is  no  light  in  them, — and  they  shall 
look  unto  the  earth;  and  behold  trouble  and  darkness,  dimness 
of  anguish;  and  they  shall  be  driven  to  darkness.  Thus  it  is,  that 
the  Romish  Church  on  one  hand,  ar.d  Neology  on  the  other,  seem 
to  be  skilful  in  M-andering,  the  one  to  the  right,  and  the  other  to 
the  left,  from  the  path  of  truth  and  life,  trodden  by  the  people  of 
God.  The  Romish  Church  hears  unity  spoken  of;  and  forgetting 
that  the  words  of  Jesus  are  spirit  and  life,  that  his  reigu  is  in  the 
heart,  that  the  question  is  concerning  a  unity  of  spirit,  she  invents 
an  actual  unity  of  appearance,  a  patched  up  unity,  a  unity  of  uni- 
form and  parade;  provided  its  recruits  all  wear,  whether  good  or 
bad,  the  same  dress,  the  same  cockade,  and  that  at  the  same  word 
they  all  turn  their  lieads  at  the  same  moment,  this  is  all  that  is 
necessary ;  the  heart  is  not  her  domain  ;  they  may  dilTer  in  spirit 
as  far  as  the  heavens  differ  from  the  earth  ;  no  matter  !  her  con- 
cern is  with  that  which  appears  to  be,  and  not  with  that  which  is. 


136  CHRISTIANITY    AND    PROTESTANTISM. 

When  we  think  of  the  infinite  number  of  different  opinions 
inclosed  in  the  body  called  the  Romish  Church,  is  it  not  laughable 
to  see  this  unformed  mass  baptized  by  the  name  of  unity  ?  It  is 
the  unity  of  chaos,  and  darkness  is  on  the  face  of  the  deep.  For, 
provided  you  carry  a  torch  in  a  procession,  or  still  more,  provided 
you  yield  to  importunities  and  mark  your  last  moments  by  a  few 
ceremonies,  whatever  else  you  may  thmk  in  your  sleeve,  the  Romish 
Church  will  acknowledge  you  as  her  child.  But  neology  goes  by  a 
still  easier  reckoning,  and  needs  not  observe  so  many  forms  ;  it  pro- 
claims itself  an  army  without  standard,  and  a  people  without  any 
common  law  ;  it  declares  that  all  its  agreement  consists  in  agree- 
ing upon  nothing.  The  unity  of  the  Romish  Church  is  the  Prus- 
sian drill ;  the  unity  of  the  innovators  is  a  Cossack  band,  each  one 
moving  as  it  pleases  him.  People  of  God  !  such  is  not  your  life 
and  your  unity!  Those  whom  he  •predestinated,  them  he  also  called; 
whom  he  called,  them  he  also  justified ;  and  whom  he  justified,  them  he  also 
glorified;  and  those  who  have  been  the  objects  of  this  eternal 
grace,  are  one  in  heart  at  the  foot  of  the  cross  ;  redeemed  unto  God 
by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  washed,  sanctified,  justified,  by  the  name 
of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God,  built  upon  the 
foundation  of  the  Apostles  and  prophets ;  Jesus  Christ  himself 
being  the  Chief  Corner  Stone,  out  of  every  kindred,  and  tongue, 
and  i^eople,  and  nation  ;  they  are  the  true  Church  of  God  upon  earth  ; 
they  are  the  true  body  of  Christ,  and  they  are  one,  as  their  Master 
has  promised.  Oh,  ye,  who  may  perchance  read  these  lines, 
whatever  language  you  speak,  in  whatever  country  you  have  had 
your  birth,  whatever  may  be  the  external  confession  to  which 
you  belong,  I  call  you  to  witness  that  we  are  but  one!  We  are 
but  one  body,  we  have  only  one  spirit,  one  hope,  one  Lord,  one  faith, 
one  baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of  all,  who  is  above  all,  and  among 
all,  and  in  all .  We  are  one  with  the  Church  which  is  in  Heaven, 
and  with  that  which  is  still  upon  earth.  Let  those  who  are  with- 
out, reject  with  contempt  the  unity  that  our  Saviour  and  our  God 
has  promised  to  his  people  ;  but  as  for  us,  we  guard  it  as  a  pre- 
cious jewel,  and  it  constitutes  our  joy  and  glory  ! 

There  is,  without  doubt,  a  great  error  in  that  Protestantism 
which  places  itself  out  of  Christianity.  Perhaps  we  may  take,  as 
a  ready  example,  another,  and  in  some  respects  still  more  import- 
ant one,  which  introduces  into  evangelical  Christianity  one  of  the 
most  dangerous  vices  of  Rome,  and  threatens  to  rob  the  Church 
of  its  liberty,  its  glory,  its  greatness,  and  to  drag  it  down  to  shame- 
ful chains.  But  who  will  not  feel  the  dangers  that  would  encom- 
pass our  Churches,  if  this  philosophic-religious  system,  the  child 
of  the  past  century — if  this  Protestantism  which  is  distinct  from 
Christianity,  could  prevail  therein.'  The  necessary  consequence 
would  be  to  take  away  all  life  from  the  evangelical  Churches. 
They  Avill  turn  aside  the  river  that  waters  the  roots  of  this  beauti- 
ful tree,  causing  it  to  yield  its  fruit  in  its  season,  and  a  dry  and 
barren  soil  will  quickly  cause  it  to  cast  its  foliage.  Our  Churches 
must  be  more  strongly  rooted  in  Christianity,  in  the  Gospel;  it  is 
only  from  them  they  can  receive  life.    Transplant  them  into  the 


CHRISTIANITY    AND    PROTESTANTISM.  137 

soil  of  worldly  philosophy,  as  they  pretend  to  do,  and  you  will 
soon  see  them  perish.  What  is  it  which  has  revived  them  ?  Is 
it  not  divine  grace,  evangelical  sermons,  the  Bibles  of  the  Bible 
Societies,  the  living  spirit  of  the  Missionary  Societies  ?  This  is 
the  way  in  which  it  must  walk.  The  Protestantism,  which  is 
Christianity,  is  the  spiritual  lever  of  the  world  ;  it  has  received  a 
commission  to  diffuse  light  and  life  throughout  the  families  of  the 
earth.  The  Protestantism  which  is  not  Cl)ristianity,  is  only  good 
as  it  is  the  occasion  of  a  little  wit,  and  to  give  birth  to  some  pages 
which  amuse  the  ennui  of  their  readers.  Let  us  then  plunge  our 
roots  in  the  spring  of  living  water,  and  let  us  not,  alas  !  plant  the 
tree  of  our  faith  in  broken  cisterns  which  hold  no  water. 

It  is  not  only  Protestantism  considered  as  Christianity,  which 
has  to  fear  this  new  direction ;  it  is  likewise  Christianity  consi- 
dered as  Protestantism,  that  is  in  its  struggle  with  Rome.  In  this 
exigency,  the  best  method  of  obtaining  strength,  is  to  be  vivified 
by  the  vital  doctrines  of  faith.  The  best,  or  rather  the  only 
ground,  on  which  we  can  meet  and  oppose  to  advantage  the 
usurper  who  has  established  his  camp,  with  all  his  hosts,  on  the 
seven  hills,  is  that  of  the  Apostles  and  Reformers.  How  would 
the  branches  be  able  to  offer  their  fronts  to  the  wind  and  battle 
with  the  tempest,  if  their  roots  did  not  derive  from  the  depths  of 
the  earth  their  strength  and  their  life  .'  And  what  would  become 
of  soldiers  avIio  should  fight  continually  without  ever  partaking 
of  food  or  rest .'  They  would  soon  become  wan  skeletons,  which 
the  least  breath  could  overthrow. 

We  would  ask,  in  closing  this  article  :  Is  it  a  shadow  we  have 
been  fighting !  Pastors  of  our  Churches  !  you  know.  Do  you 
find  among  your  flocks  any  error  more  general  and  more  opposed 
to  the  propagation  of  Christianity,  of  the  true  Christian  life,  than 
that  which  consists  in  believing  that,  provided  one  is  called  a  good 
Protestant,  all  will  go  well ;  that  if  he  rejects  the  superstitions  of 
Rome,  her  images,  her  processions,  her  saints,  in  a  Avord  (to  use 
the  happy  expression  of  a  French  Christian  universally  distin- 
guished by  his  birth,  his  talents,  and  his  piety),  if  he  is  a  negative 
Protestant,  he  is  on  the  way  to  heaven.  Is  there  an  evil  which 
strikes  more  directly  and  deeply  at  the  root  of  piety  ? 

If  there  are  some  shepherds  who  do  not  find  this  evil  in  their 
flocks,  we  rejoice  and  bless  God  for  it ;  but  we  have  heard  the 
complaints  and  sighs  of  many,  and  this  has  induced  us  to  lift  up 
our  voice  in  the  Churches,  that,  weak  but  faitliful  sentinels,  we 
might  announce  the  danger  which  tlu'eatens  Zion. 

Faithful,  beloved  brethren  !  raised  in  the  bosom  of  this  Evan- 
gelical Church  caused  by  the  Lord  to  si)ring  up  in  the  midst  of 
darkness,  to  lead  many  souls  to  light  and  life,  it  is  not  sufficient 
for  your  salvation  that  you  are  called  in  ordinary  language  a  good 
Protestant.  There  is  no  Church  Avhich  saves ;  there  is  no  more 
salvation  in  the  Protestant  than  in  the  Romish  Church ;  salvation 
comes  only  through  Jesus  Christ.  Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any 
other  ;  for  there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given  among 
men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved.     Do  you  not  perceive,  my  dear 


138  CHRISTIANITY    AND    PROTESTANTISM. 

friends,  that  this  is  exactly  the  error  of  the  Roman  Cathohcs  ?  Their 
capital  crime  is  to  put  the  Church  in  the  stead  of  Jesus  Christ,  and 
to  declare  it  is  she  who  saves.  And  shall  we  commit  the  same 
fault  ?  Consider  that  it  is  not  necessary  that  this  error  be  acknow- 
ledged in  doctrine,  as  is  the  case  in  the  Romish  Church  ;  it  lives 
in  our  souls,  if  it  renders  us  satisfied  with  ourselves,  if  it  stops  us  in 
the  way  of  life,  if  it  hinders  us  from  going  as  poor  sinners  to  wash 
ourselves  in  that  fountain  opened  on  Golgotha/or  sin  and  undeanness, 
and  which  alone  deansetk  us  from  all  sin — this  will  ruin  our  souls  ! 
No,  no  !  neither  the  communion  of  Luther  nor  of  Calvin,  and  still  less 
of  this  or  of  that  neology,  can  save  us  any  more  than  that  of  Pius 
VII.  or  of  Leo  XII. ;  it  is  the  communion  of  Jesus  which  saves.  That 
which  we  have  seen  and  heard  declare  we  unto  you,  that  ye  also 
may  have  fellowship  with  us,  and  truly  our  fellowship  is  with  the 
Father  and  with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ.  Negative  Protestantism  is  a 
comfortable  cushion  upon  whichwe  can  quietly  repose  and  slumber ; 
we  would  that  we  Avere  at  this  moment  able  to  withdraw  it  from 
under  the  heads  it  pillows,  even  though  it  were  a  little  roughly, 
so  that  falling  naked  to  the  ground  they  might  awaken  and  seek 
that  true  point  of  support,  which  alone  can  give  us  peace  of  soul 
for  time  and  for  eternity.  Friends  and  brethren  !  These  tJmigs  1 
say,  that  ye  might  be  saved  ;  God  knows,  and  our  conscience  bears 
us  witness.  Oh  !  that  every  one  to  whom  these  leaves  may  come, 
would  ask  himself  :  I  am  a  member  of  the  Protestant  Church,  but 
am  I  a  member  of  Christ  ?  I  hold  communion  with  those  Avho 
have  separated  from  Rome ;  but  do  I  hold  communion  Avith  God  ? 
I  have  separated  myself  from  the  abominations  without,  from  the 
worship  that  is  offered  to  creatures ;  but  have  I  separated  myself 
from  the  corritption  w'ithin,  from  that  worship  which  makes  self 
my  idol .'  Is  there  in  me  an  energetic  Protestantism  against  my- 
self, against  sin  which  dwelleth  in  me,  against  the  world  and  its 
lusts,  against  the  devil  and  his  works  .>  This  is  the  Protestantism 
lohich  affords  salvation  ! 

Friends  and  brethren !  Negative  Protestantism  is  a  first  step, 
and  we  rejoice  that  you  have  taken  it ;  but  would  you  stop  here  ^ 
Alas  !  you  willlo.se  the  fruit  of  your  first  efforts.  Is  it  sufficient  to 
pull  down  an  old  and  tottering  edifice,  and  to  remove  the  rubbi.sh 
from  its  foundations  ?  This  is  the  work  of  negative  Protestantism. 
Shall  we  not  also  construct  in  its  place  a  new  building  full  of 
strength  and  bloom  ?  This  is  the  work  of  positive  Protestantism  ; 
and  these  two  Protestantisms,  united,  form  alone  Christianity.  We 
beseech  you,  then,  by  the  eternal  compassion  of  God,  to  go  to  the 
blood  of  Jesus,  there  to  wash  away  your  sins,  and  there  to  find 
peace  for  yoiu-  .souls.  Do  not  rest  until  you  have  proved  for  your- 
selves the  import  of  these  words  of  our  Saviour  :  "Except  a  man 
be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God."  Then  will 
you  be  true  Protestants,  then  will  you  be  true  Christians,  then  you 
would  have,  together  with  all  the  redeemed  Churches,  whether 
that  which  now  triumphs  in  heaven  or  that  which  still  struggles 
on  earth,  "  one  spirit,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  one  Lord,  one  Fa- 
ther." 


CHRISTIANITY    AND    PROTESTANTISM.  139 

Pastors  of  Evangelical  churches  !  the  task  which  has  been  al- 
lotted you  is  a  great  one.  Our  voice  has  been  but  the  echo  of 
yours;  and,  if  you  have  taken  cognizance  of  the  evil,  you  will 
the  better  know  where  to  apply  the  remedy.  Tender  guardians 
of  your  flocks,  you  should  zealously  labor  to  guard  believers 
against  error,  which,  if  not  combated,  would  wither  and  destroy 
our  Churches.  We  do  not  simply  say  that  you  should  endeavor 
to  make  your  hearers  better  Christians,  still  more  finuly  rooted  and 
grounded  in  Christ,  knowing  that  this  is  the  only  way  of  rendering 
them  also  better  Protestants ;  because  for  a  long  Avhile  you  have 
done  this.  But  perhaps  you  may  still  judge  it  expedient,  carefully 
to  avoid  everything  which  might  improperly  nourish,  in  your 
hearers,  pride  in  the  name  of  Protestant,  without  producing  any- 
thing better.  Undoubtedly'  you  may.  incite  theiu  i  to  consider 
the  greatness  of  their  advantages ;  but  you  should  hasten  to 
add,  that  in  proportion  to  the  magnitude  of  these  advantages  are 
their  tasks  and  obligations,  and  this  should  be  the  point  upon 
which  you  should  insist.  You  must  i^roclaim  from  the  eminence 
of  the  jiulpit,  that  Protestantisin  is  nothing  else  than  Christianity  ; 
that  there  is  no  Protestantism  aside  from  Christianity ;  and  that  to 
be  a  good  Protestant  is  only  to  be  a  good  Christian,  such  as  were 
the  primitive  discii)les  at  Jerusalem,  at  Antioch,  at  Philippi. 
Perhaps  you  will  also  think  proper  to  devote  some  particular 
meditation  to  the  development  of  this  important  truth,  and  in're- 
futation  of  the  errors  which  are  opposed  to  it,  so  that  from  one  end 
of  our  Churches  to  the  other,  the  standard  of  Christ  alone  may  be 
lifted  up,  and  that  every  new  standard  should  prostrate  itself  be- 
fore that  of  the  Prince  of  Life,  and  hide  in  the  dust  its  false  co- 
lors. But  what  need  is  there  of  our  words,  venerable  leaders  of 
our  flocks  !  God  himself  has  implanted  in  your  hearts  the  wel- 
fare of  our  Churches,  and  this  flame,  which  already  diffuses  its 
genial  warmth  and  rejoicing  light,  will  not  be  extmguished.  You 
have,  so  to  speak,  sent  the  words  that  we  have  uttered;  our  voice 
has  been  only  your  voice ;  our  cry  is  only  your  cry.  Destitute 
ourselves  of  wisdom  and  life,  to  pretend  to  convey  unto  others 
what  we  have  not  received  ourselves,  will  end  in  ridiculous  and 
powerless  attempts. 

Let  silence  then  succeed  to  our  word,  and  all  listening  to  the 
voice  of  the  Master  who  is  in  heaven,  but  who  now  speaks  with 
so  much  power  to  the  angels  of  his  Churches,  let  us  labor  toge- 
ther with  God,  not  only  to  strengthen  the  walls  of  Zion,  but  also 
to  multiply  in  its  bosom,  abundance,  life  and  peace. 

Have  we  been  severe  .'  Determined  not  to  go  beyond  this,  have 
we  confounded  men  with  their  wickedness  and  faults  .'  We  think 
not.  We  have  avoided  all  personalities ;  our  concern  is  with 
things  and  not  with  individuals.  If  we  have  contended  against 
systems  which  appeared  to  us  dangerous,  we  are  ready  to  tender 
the  hand  to  those  who  entertain  them,  as  to  brethren  descended 
from  the  same  Father  with  ourselves.  How  great  would  be  our 
joy  could  we  see  talents  that  we  appreciate,  employed  in  that 
which  caa  alone  brmg  prosperity  to  our  Churches  !    Friends,  we 


140  CHRISTIANITY    AND    PROTESTANTISM. 

trus,t  you  possess  in  yonr  hearts  the  same  desires  as  ourselves.  Do 
you  not  perceive  that  every  period  of  revival  in  the  Church  has 
been  effected  by  its  vital  doctrines,  by  the  spirit  of  power  and  of 
life  in  the  Gospel,  and  not  by  the  efforts  of  reason  or  of  human 
philosophy  ?  Have  we  not  heard  you  sometimes  joyfully  declare 
that  it  is  in  these  doctrines  alone  the  Church  can  find  her  hopes 
of  salvation  ?  Why  then  at  another  period  do  you  oppose  these 
doctrines  ?  Are  you  not  delighted,  do  you  not  boast  as  Protest- 
ants, of  the  admirable  labors  of  England  and  America,  of  their 
Bible  Societies  and  their  Missions  ?  All  who  compose  those  So- 
cieties are  one  with  us  ;  the  same  principles  that  we  maintain  and 
have  mentioned,  are  those  that  animate  them.  Why  then  should 
that  which  is  the  subject  of  your  praise  beyond  the  sea,  be  on 
this  side  the  object  of  your  attack,  of  your  blame,  perhaps  of  your 
ridicule  .'  How  can  you  praise  the  effects  at  a  distance,  and  com- 
bat the  causes  near  at  hand .'  How  can  you  present  the  labors  of 
our  British  and  American  brethren  as  a  model,  at  the  same  time 
that  you  rob  your  brethren  on  the  Continent  of  the  only  means, 
the  only  power  by  which  they  might  become  their  imitators .' 
No  !  no  !  you  are  doubtless  deceived,  and  we  call  upon  yourselves 
to  be  better  informed  of  yourselves.  There  is,  it  is  true,  a  great 
temptation  in  this  walki;ig  in  accordance  with  the  reigning  worldly 
spij.-,  d  efending  Protestantism  as  a  species  of  ecclesiastical  liber- 
alism, and  even  in  being  praised  by  the  organs  of  public  opinion. 
But  are  you  not  called  to  resist  and  to  overcome  this  temptation  .' 
Public  opinion  may  be  of  some  value ;  we  approve  it.  But 
evangelical  Christianity  has  received  a  nobler  vocation  than  that 
of  following  in  the  suite  of  the  world;  it  is  at  the  head  she  must 
walk,  strong  in  her  own  principles  and  borrowing  from  none.  He, 
who  walks  only  in  the  track  of  the  multitude,  may  render  a  few 
services  to  humanity  ;  but  he  who  remains  immoveable  in  truth, 
opposing  a  brazen  front  to  the  course  of  the  "world  in  every- 
thing that  is  wrong,  obliging  it,  by  his  perseverance,  to  turn 
aside  from  its  shiuous  paths  into  the  straight  i^ath  of  rectitude, 
allowing  threatenings,  injuries,  violent  language,  and  ridicule, 
to  blunt  their  darts  against  the  buckler  of  his  faith ;  he  will  gain 
the  crown  and  will  have  fought  the  good  fight.  Such  is  our  vo- 
cation ;  friends,  shall  it  not  be  yours  .' 

It  is  this  vocation  to  which  you  look  forward,  pupils  of  our 
Churches  !  Levites,  who  are  growing  up  in  the  shadow  of  the 
sanctuary,  and  Avho  learn  in  our  schools  what  is  the  wisdom,  the 
righteousnessythesanctification,  the  redemption, tliRt  you  are  one  day  to 
proclaim  to  the  people,  to  know  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified, 
remember,  that  if  you  wallv  in  the  doctrines  of  faith,  you  will 
follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  greatest  and  the  noblest  of  the  hu- 
man race ;  in  the  path  of  Abraham,  of  David,  of  Isaiah,  of  John, 
of  Paul,  of  Peter,  of  Polycarp,  of  Ignatius,  of  Justin,  of  Cyprian, 
of  Origen,  of  Chrysostom,  of  Augustine,  of  Bernard,  of  Wickliffe, 
of  Waldo,  of  Huss,  of  Luther,  of  JMelancthou,  of  Calvin,  of  Zuiu- 
gle,  of  Favel,  of  Knox,  of  Mornay,  of  Malbranche,  Drelincourt, 
Claude,  Bossuet,  Fenelon,  Bacon  and  Newton,  Pascal  and  many 


CHRISTIANITY    AND    PROTESTANTISM.  141 

Others  who  have  all  believed  the  same  that  we  believe ;  and 
above  all,  yoii  will  walk  with  Jesus  Christ  who  has  taught  them. 
But  should  yoii  abandon  these  doctrines  for  those  sought  to  be 
substituted  in  their  stead,  you  will  drag  along  in  the  shameful 
steps  of  some  pretended  philosophers,  with  some  obscure  neolo- 
gians  of  different  coimtries,  who  are  only  known  for  their  extra- 
vagances and  for  the  evil  they  have  wrought  to  the  Church  of  the 
Saviour.  Be  ye  not  deceived ;  the  vain  objections  they  may 
offer  to  you  are  only  the  trifles  of  wits  and  sciolists,  of  superficial 
minds,  who  fall  back  before  the  steps  of  truth.  All  their  pre- 
tended wisdom  is  only  foolishness  with  God;  the  gifted,  the 
choice  spirits  of  the  world,  not  allowing  themselves  to  be  deterred 
by  these  vain  sports,  have  embraced  eternal  truth  as  it  is  revealed 
in  the  word  of  God,  and  as  our  Churches  have  professed  it  from 
their  birth.  Repel,  then,  a  poisoned  blow,  which  will  not  only 
convey  death  to  your  own  souls,  but  also  to  the  flocks  over  which 
you  shall  be  established  overseers.  Ascend  the  pulpits,  to  pro- 
claim from  thence  the  powerful  Word  of  Truth  ;  be  the  noble  in- 
struments  of  God's  mercy,  and  not  the  repeaters  of  man's  inven- 
tions !  Find  grace  before  God  for  your  own  souls ;  your  faces 
shall  be  enlightened  by  it,  and  you  will  reflect  upon  your  brethren 
salvation  and  peace.  Fear  not  the  world.  "  He  that  is  in  you  is 
greater  than  he  that  is  in  the  world.  Ye  are  of  God,  little  chil- 
dren, and  have  overcome  them."  Christ  says,  "  Lo  I  am  with  you 
alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world,  and  all  power  is  given 
ixnto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth." 
Oh  God  !  save  thy  church.    It  is  timk 


FAMILY    WORSHIP. 


TRANSLATED  BY  M.  M.  BACKUS 


FAMILY  WORSHIP. 


As  for  me  and  my  house,  we  will  serve  the  Lord. — Joshua  xxiv.  15. 

Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let  my  last  end  be  like  his. 
We  have  said  on  a  former  occasion,  my  brethren,  that  if  we  would 
die  their  death,  we  must  hve  their  hfe.  Doubtless  there  are  some 
cases  in  which  the  Lord  manifests  his  grace  and  glory  to  man,  on 
his  death-bed,  saying  to  him,  as  to  the  thief  on  the  cross  :  To-day 
thou  shah  be  with  me  in  paradise.  The  Lord,  from  time  to  time,  gives 
such  examples  to  the  Church,  thus  to  demonstrate  his  sovereign 
power,  by  which  he  can,  if  it  please  him,  subdue  the  most 
hardened  hearts,  and  convert  the  most  alienated  souls,  causing  us 
to  see  that  all  depends  on  his  grace,  and  that  he  has  mercy  on 
whom  he  will  have  mercy.  But  these  are  only  very  rare  excep- 
tions, upon  which  you  cannot  absolutely  count;  and  if  you  would 
have  a  Christian  death,  my  dear  hearers,  you  must  have  a  Christian 
life — a  heart  truly  converted  to  the  Lord,  truly  ready  for  the  king- 
dom, which,  trusting  only  in  the  grace  of  Christ,  desires  to  walk 
near  Him.  There  are  many  means,  my  brethren,  by  which  you 
can  prepare  yourselves  during  life,  to  obtain,  one  day,  so  blessed 
an  end.  To  one  of  the  most  efficacious  of  these  we  would  lead 
you  to-day.  This  means  is  domestic  worship ;  that  is  to  say,  that 
edification  which,  day  after  day,  a  Christian  family  receives  at  the 
common  altar.  "  As  for  me  and  my  house,  we  will  serve  the  Lord," 
said  Joshua  to  Israel.  We  desire,  my  brethren,  to  present  to  you 
the  motives  which  ought  to  lead  you  to  this  resolution  of  Joshua, 
and  the  necessary  directions  for  its  accomplishment. 

THE    MOTIVES. 

Domestic  worship  is  the  most  ancient  as  well  as  the  most  holy 
of  institutions.  It  is  not  one  of  those  innovations  against  which 
one  is  easily  prejudiced  ;  it  began  with  the  world  itself. 

It  is  evident  that  the  first  worship,  which  the  first  man  and  his 
children  rendered  to  God,  could  be  no  other  than  family  worship, 
since  they  \yere  then  the  only  family  existing  on  the  earth.  Then 
began  men,  says  the  Scripture,  to  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord. 
Domestic  worship  mu.st  have  been  for  along  period  the  only  wor- 
ship rendered  in  common  to  God ;  for  as  the  earth  increased  in 
population,  each  head  of  a  family  establishing  himself  alone,  a 
priest  unto  God  in  the  place  in  which  his  lot  was  cast,  presented  to 
7 


146  FAMILY    WORSHIP. 

the  Lord  of  all  the  earth,  with  his  wife,  his  sons,  his  daughters, 
his  men  servants  and  his  maid  servants,  the  homage  which  was 
His  due.  It  was  only  when  by  gradual  increase  men  had  infinitely 
multiplied,  that  different  families  dwelt  near  each  other,  and  then 
came  the  idea  of  offering  to  God  a  common  adoration,  and  "public 
worship  had  birth.  But  domestic  worship  had  become  too  pre- 
cious to  the  families  of  the  children  of  God  to  be  abandoned  by 
them,  and  if  they  imited  with  strange  families  in  worshipping  God, 
how  much  stronger  reasons  had  they  for  persisting  in  adoring  Him 
with  their  own  families  ?  So,  when  leaving  the  cradle  of  the  hu- 
man race,  we  transport  ourselves  under  the  tents  of  the  patri- 
archs, we  find  there  also  this  household  worship. 

Go  with  the  angels  to  the  plains  of  Mamre,  when  Abraham  sits 
at  his  tent-door  in  the  heat  of  the  day  ;  enter  there  with  him  and 
we  shall  see  the  patriarch,  with  all  his  house,  offering  a  common 
sacrifice  to  God.  "  I  know,"  said  the  Lord,  speaking  of  the  father 
of  the  faithful,  "  I  know  that  he  will  command  his  children,  and 
his  house  after  him,  to  keep  the  way  of  the  Lord, — to  do  that 
which  is  just  and  right."  Public  worship  is  established  by  Moses ; 
he  gives  many  ordinances  ; — a  magnificent  temple  is  to  be  raised. 
Will  not  domestic  worship  now  be  abolished  ?  No ;  by  the  side 
of  this  temple,  and  all  its  magnificence,  the  meanest  house  of  the 
faithful  is  to  be  filled  with  the  Word  of  God.  "  These  words 
which  I  command  thee  this  day,"  said  the  Lord,  by  Moses,  "  shall 
be  in  thine  heart;  and  thou  shalt  teach  them  diligently  to  thy 
children,  and  shalt  talk  of  them  when  thou  sittest  in  thine 
house,  and  when  thou  walkest  by  the  way,  and  when  thou 
liest  down,  and  Avhen  thou  risest  up."  Joshua,  in  our  text, 
declares  to  the  people  that  they,  if  they  will,  may  adore  idols, 
but  that  he  will  not  mingle  in  their  profane  feasts,  but  with- 
draw into  his  own  dwelling, — he  and  his  house  will  serve  the  Lord. 
Job,  rising  early  in  the  morning,  sanctified  his  children,  and  offered 
burnt  offerings  according  to  the  number  of  them  all,  saying  :  "  It 
may  be  that  ray  sons  have  sinned  !"  David,  whose  whole  life  is 
a  continual  adoration  of  God,  and  to  whom  a  day  passed  in  the 
courts  of  the  Lord  was  better  than  a  thousand  days  elsewhere, 
neglected  not  the  domestic  altar,  when  he  exclaimed,  "  The  things 
that  our  fathers  have  told  us  we  will  not  keep  from  our  children." 
Transporting  ourselves  to  the  times  in  which  our  Savioiir  appeared, 
we  find  domestic  instruction  in  all  the  pious  families  of  Israel. 
It  is  thus  St.  Paul  was  enabled  to  say  to  Tnnothy  :  "  From  a  child 
thou  hast  known  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which  are  able  to  make  thee 
wise  unto  salvation.  I  call  to  remembrance  the  unfeigned  faith 
that  is  in  thee,  which  dwelt  first  m  thy  grandmother  Lois,  and  thy 
mother  Eunice ;  and  I  am  persuaded  that  in  thee  also."  Jesus, 
during  hia  ministry,  laid  the  foundations  of  domestic  worship 
among  Christians,  when  he  said :  "  Where  two  or  three  are 
gathered  together  in  my  name,  there  will  I  be  in  the  midst  of 
them."  St.  Paul  recommends  it  by  saying :  "  Rule  well  your 
own  houses,  having  your  children  in  subjection  with  all  gravity ; 
speaking  to  yourselves  in  psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual  songs. 


FAMILY    WORSHIP.  147 

singing  and  making  melody  in  your  hearts  to  the  Lord  ;  giving 
thanks  always  for  all  things  mito  God  and  the  Father  in  the  name 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Yes,  my  brethren,  if  we  jienetrate  into 
the  humble  dwellings  of  the  early  Christians,  after  having  been 
mider  the  tents  of  the  patriarchs,  we  shall  find  there  also,  this 
same  family  worship  otTered  to  the  Lord,  Ave  shall  hear  in  the  dis- 
tance those  songs,  which  may  have  revealed  the  existence  of  the 
disciples  of  the  Crucified  to  their  persecntors,  which  they  caused 
to  ascend  with  joy  before  the  throne  of  their  Saviour,  because  they 
feared  him  rather  than  men;  we  shall  see  them  gathered  together 
around  these  sacred  books  which  they  hide  so  carefully,  lest  they 
fall  into  the  hands  of  those  who  would  destroy  them. 

An  illustrious  father  of  the  Church,  Clement  of  Alexandria, 
about  the  commencement  of  the  third  century,  recommends  to 
Christian  wives  to  make  common  prayers  and  the  reading  of  the 
Bible  their  daily  morning  employment;  then,  he  adds,  "The 
mother  is  the  glory  of  her  children,  the  wife  is  the  gloiy  of  her 
hu.sband;  both  are  the  glory  of  the  wife,  and  God  is  the  glory  of 
all."  And  another  father,  not  less  celebrated,  TertuUian,  gave,  a 
little  while  before,  this  admirable  description  of  the  domestic  life 
of  a  Christian  pair  :  "  What  a  union  is  that  which  exists  between 
two  faithful  ones,  who  have  in  common  the  same  hope,  the  same 
desire,  the  same  manner  of  life,  the  same  service  of  the  Lord : 
both  as  a  brother  and  sister  united  according  to  the  flesh,  and 
according  to  the  spirit,  cast  themselves  together  on  their  knees; 
they  pray  and  fast  together;  they  teach,  they  exhort,  they  mutu- 
ally support  each  other  with  gentleness ;  they  are  t\igether  in 
the  church  of  God,  at  the  table  of  the  Lord  ;  they  partake  of  pains, 
of  persecutions,  of  joys;  the  one  hides  nothing  from  the  other,  the 
one  avoids  not  the  other ;  they  visit  the  sick,  they  succor  the 
needy ;  psalms  and  hymns  are  heard  resounding  among  them ; 
they  strive  to  see  which  shall  sing  most  fervently  in  the  heart  to 
God.  Christ  has  joy  in  seeing  and  hearing  these  things,  he  sends 
them  his  peace.  There,  where  two  like  these  are  found,  he  is 
found  also;  and  where  he  is  no  evil  comes." 

Leaving  the  humble  dwellings  of  the  primitive  Christians,  it  is 
true  that  we  find  domestic  worship  becomi.  g  gradually  rarer ; 
but  with  splendor  did  it  re-appear  at  the  time  of  the  Heformation. 
And  what  an  influence  did  it  then  exercise  on  the  faith,  the  man- 
ners, the  intellectual  development  of  these  nations  who  return- 
ed to  primitive  Christianity  !  The  period  is  not  very  distant  ia 
which  it  was  found  in  all  evangelical  families.  If"  our  fathers 
have  been  deprived  of  its  light,  our  grandfathers  at  least  knew  it. 
It  flourished  especially  in  the  evangelical  provinces  of  this  king- 
dom, and  we  trust  that  numerous  and  precious  fragments  may  yet 
be  found. 

My  brethren,  such  luis  l)een  in  all  ages  a  life  of  piety.  Shall 
we  be  such  Christians  or  shall  we  nof .'  Do  we  wish  to  invent 
a  new  species  of  piety  which  shall  agree  very  well  with  the 
world,  or  do  we  wish  to  retain  that  wliich  God  has  ordained  .' 
Beholding  this  worship,  which  passed  from  the  tents  of  the  patri- 


148  FAMILY    WORSHIP. 

archs  into  the  dwelling  of  the  first  Christians,  and  at  length  estab- 
lished itself  in  the  households  of  our  fathers,  shall  we  not  say, 
"  As  for  me  and  my  house,  we  will  serve  the  Lord  ?" 

But,  my  brethren,  if  the  love  of  God  is  in  your  heart,  if  you  feel 
that,  being  purchased  by  a  great  price,  you  ought  to  glorify 
God  in  your  iDody  and  spirits  which  are  His,  where  will  you  de- 
light to  honor  him,  if  not  in  your  own  family,  in  your  own  house  ? 
You  love  to  unite  with  your  brethren  in  rendering  public  homage 
to  Him  in  his  temples :  you  love  to  pour  out  your  hearts  before 
him  in  your  closet.  Shall  it  be  only  in  the  presence  of  the  per- 
son with  whom  he  has  associated  your  life,  and  of  your  children, 
that  you  do  not  wish  to  be  employed  with  God  ?  Will  it  be  pre- 
cisely there,  that  you  will  have  no  thanks  to  give  '  Will  it  be  pre- 
cisely there,  that  you  will  not  have  some  favors,  some  protec- 
tion to  implore  ?  You  occupy  yourself  with  everything  in  your 
intercourse  with  them.  Conversation  turns  upon  a  thousand  differ- 
ent objects ;  cannot  your  tongue  and  your  heart  find  a  ^vord  for 
God  .'  Can  you  not  lift  up  your  voice  in  your  family  for  Him  who  is 
the  true  father  of  your  family ;  can  yon  not  converse  with  your  wife 
and  children  of  Him,  who  may  one  day  be  the  only  husband  of 
your  Avife,  the  only  father  of  your  children  ?  The  Gospel  has  pro- 
duced a  domestic  society,  w^hich  did  not  exist  before  it  and  can- 
not exist  beyond  it;  it  would  seem  then,  that  this  society,  full  of 
gratitude  to  the  God  of  the  Gospel,  ought  to  be  especially  conse- 
crated to  Him;  and  above  all,  my  brethren,  such  unions  as  fami- 
lies, who  call  themselves  Christians,  who  have  even  a  respect 
for  religion,  and  where  there  is  never  a  question  raised  concerning 
God.  What  is  the  condition  of  immortal  souls,  who  have  been 
united,  who  never  ask  themselves  who  has  redeemed  them,  who 
has  united  them,  what  is  their  destiny,  their  future,  their  end  ? 
What  is  the  condition  of  those,  who,  seeking  to  aid  each  other  in 
everything  else,  never  think  of  assisting  each  other  in  "  the  one 
thing  needful,"  of  having  a  single  conversation,  of  reading  a  single 
line,  of  pronouncing  one  prayer,  which  has  reference  to  eternal 
interests  !  Christian  partners  !  Is  it  then  only  in  the  flesh  and  for 
time  that  you  desire  to  be  united  ?  Is  it  not  in  spirit  and  for  eter- 
nity .'  Are  you  then  beings  who  have  met  only  by  chance,  and 
whom  a  new  chance,  that  of  death,  Avill  soon  separate  ?  Do 
you  not  Avish  to  be  united  by  God,  in  God,  and  for  God.'  Reli- 
gion would  unite  your  souls  in  immortal  bonds  !  But  do  not 
reject  them  ;  every  day  increase  their  strength  by  the  devotions 
of  the  domestic  circle.  Passengers,  whom  the  same  ship  encloses, 
discourse  of  the  place  whither  they  go  ;  and  you,  voyagers  on 
the  same  vessel  towards  an  eternal  world,  can  you  not  .speak  of 
that  world,  of  the  route  which  conducts  you  thither,  of  your 
hopes,  your  fears  ?  "  For  many  walk,  of  whom  I  have  told  you 
often,  and  now  tell  you  even  weeping,  that  they  are  the  enemies 
of  the  cross  of  Christ," says  St.  Paul;  "  for  our  conversation  is  in 
lieaven  ;  from  whence  also  we  look  for  the  Saviour,  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  But  if  you  ought  for  yourselves  to  be  emjjioyed  for  God  in 
your  dwellings,  ought  you  not  for  those  of  your  household,  whose 


FAMILY    WORSHIP.  149 

souls  have  been  entrusted  to  you,  especially  for  your  own  chil- 
dren ?  You  are  much  concerned  for  the  prosperity,  the  temporal 
happiness  of  your  own ;  but  will  not  all  this  care  cause  your 
negligence  in  regard  to  their  eternal  prosperity  and  happiness  to 
appear  in  the  stronger  light  ?  Your  children  are  young  trees  which 
have  been  confided  to  you  ;  your  house  is  the  nursery  in  which  they 
ought  to  grow;  you  are  the  gardener.  Alas!  would  you  plant 
these  young  and  precious  shrubs  in  barren  sand  ?  And  yet  this 
is  what  does  happen,  if  there  is  nothing  in  your  house  which 
causes  them  to  increase  in  the  knowledge  and  love  of  their  God 
and  Saviour.  Will  you  not  prepare  a  favorable  soil,  fit  to  give 
them  sap  and  life  .'  What  will  become  of  your  children  in 
the  midst  of  all  the  allurements  which  surround,  and  would 
lead  them  to  evil.'  What  will  become  of  them  in  this  restless 
age,  in  which  it  is  so  necessary  to  strengthen  the  soul  of  a  young 
man  by  the  fear  of  God,  thus  giving  to  the  frail  bark  the  requisite 
ballast  before  launching  it  on  the  boundless  ocean  ?  Parents  ! 
in  whose  families  your  children  find  the  spirit  of  piety,  take 
pride,  then,  in  adorning  them  with  all  manner  of  outward 
gifts,  in  introducing  them  into  the  society  of  the  world,  in 
granting  all  their  whims,  in  allowing  them  to  walk  according  to 
their  own  desires,  and  you  will  see  them  vain,  proud,  idle,  diso- 
bedient, impertinent,  extravagant !  They  will  treat  you  with  con- 
tempt ;  and  the  more  fond  the  indulgence  you  have  bestowed,  the 
less  will  be  the  regard  they  will  exercise  towards  you  in  return. 

It  is  such  conduct  as  this,  which  is  too  often  seen :  but  ask 
yourselves  if  you  are  not  responsible  for  their  bad  habits  and 
their  wicked  practices,  and  your  conscience  will  reply  that  you 
are  ;  that  you  eat  of  the  bread  of  bitterness  which  you  have  your- 
self prepared.  May  you  learn  from  this,  what  has  been  your  sin 
in  neglecting  the  means  in  your  power  for  acting  on  their  heart, 
and  may  others  be  warned  by  your  misfortune  and  educate  their 
children  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord!  Nothing  is  more  healthful  for  this 
end  than  domestic  piety.  Public  worship  is  often  too  vague,  too 
general,  and  not  stifficiently  interesting  for  children  ;  they  kno^v 
not  how  much  of  the  worship  in  particular  they  are  to  take  to 
themselves.  Lessons  properly  recited,  if  they  are  alone,  ^vill  per- 
haps easily  induce  them  to  regard  religion  as  a  study  similar  to 
that  of  foreign  languages  or  of  history.  Example  here  as  else- 
where, and  even  more  than  elsewhere,  will  effect  more  than  pre- 
cept. It  is  not  sufficient  to  teach  them  by  means  of  elementary 
books,  that  it  is  their  duty  to  love  God,  but  we  must  also  show 
them  that  we  love  him.  If  they  see  that  no  homage  is  paid  to  that 
God  of  whom  they  are  told,  the  best  in.structions  become  useless  ; 
but  by  means  of  family  worshij),  these  young  plants  will  increase 
as  a  tree  jjlanted  by  the  rivers  of  water,  that  bringeth  forth  his 
fruit  in  his  season ;  his  leaf  also  shall  not  wither :  your  children 
may  quit  the  paternal  roof;  but  they  will  recall  in  distant  lands 
the  prayers  offered  under  that  roof,  and  those  prayers  will  protect 
them.  If  any  one  has  children  or  nephews,  let  them  learn  first  to 
show  piety  at  home,  says  the  Scripture.     But  if  any  provide  not 


150  FAMILY    WORSHIP. 

for  his  own,  and  specially  for  those  of  his  own  house,  he'hath  de- 
nied the  faith,  and  is  worse  than  an  infidel. 

What  gentleness,  Avhat  peace,  wliat  true  felicity,  will  not  a 
Christian  family  lind  in  the  establishment  in  its  midst  of  the  do- 
mestic altar,  and  uniting  together  in  sacrificing  to  the  Lord  !  It  is 
the  employment  of  the  angels  in  heaven  ;  and  blessed  are  they 
who  anticipate  these  pure  and  immortal  joys  !  "  Behold  how 
good  and  how  pleasant  it  is  for  brethren  to  dwell  together  in 
unity!  It  is  like  the  precious  ointment  upon  the  head,  that  ran 
down  upon  the  beard,  even  Aaron's  beard  ;  that  went  down  to  the 
skirts  of  his  garment :  for  these  the  Lord  commanded  the  bless- 
ing, even  life  evermore."  Oh,  what  kindness,  Avhat  new  life, 
piety  spreads  throughout  a  family  !  In  a  house  where  God  is  for- 
gotten, there  is  harshness,  ill  humor,  ennui.  Without  the  know- 
ledge and  the  love  of  God,  a  family  is  but  an  aggregation  of 
individuals,  having  for  each  other  more  or  less  of  natural  affec- 
tion ;  but  the  true  bond,  the  love  of  God  our  Father  in  Jesus  Christ  our 
Lord,  is  wanting.  Poets  are  full  of  beautiful  descriptions  of  do- 
mestic life  ;  but,  alas  !  the  reality  is  often  very  different  from  their 
pictures  !  Sometiines  this  arises  from  want  of  confidence  in  the 
providence  of  God,  sometimes  from  the  love  of  riches,  sometimes 
from  a  difference  in  characters,  or  an  opposition  in  principles. 
Oh !  what  troubles,  what  miseries  in  the  bosoms  of  families  ! 
Domestic  piety  will  prevent  all  these  evils;  one  can  draw  from  it 
a  perfect  confidence  in  the  God  who  "  feedeth  the  birds  of  the 
air ;"  we  can  draw  from  it  a  real  love  for  all  those  with  whom  we 
are  called  to  live  ;  not  an  exacting,  suspicious  love,  but  a  merciful 
love,  which  excuses  and  forgives,  like  that  of  God  himself;  not 
a  proud  love,  but  a  love  humble,  and  accompanied  by  a  feeling  of 
its  own  faults,  of  its  own  misery  ;  not  a  changing  love,  but  a  love 
as  immutable  as  eternal  charity.  "  A  voice  of  singing,  of  triumph, 
and  of  deliverance,  resounds  in  the  tabernacle  of  the  just." 
When  the  hour  of  trial  comes,  that  hour  which  sounds  sooner  or 
later,  and  oftener  more  than  once  in  the  dwellings  of  men,  what 
powerful  consolation  will  domestic  piety  afford  !  Where  are  trials 
experienced,  if  not  in  the  bosom  of  families  .'  Where  then  but  in 
the  bosom  of  families  ought  the  remedy  for  trials  to  be  found  ? 
What  grief  is  there  in  an  afflicted  family  which  has  not  this  con- 
solation !  The  different  persons  who  compose  it,  mutually 
increase  their  sorrow.  But  if,  on  the  otlier  hand,  the  family  loves 
God — if  it  is  accustomed  to  invoke  in  common  the  holy  name  of 
God,  from  whom  proceeds  every  trial,  as  well  as  every  excellent 
grace,  how  the  bowed  soul  will  be  lifted  up  !  The  remaining 
members,  the  fragments  of  the  family,  gather  together  around  the 
table  upon  which  is  found  the  Book  of  God,  that  book  in  which 
they  read  of  the  resurrection,  of  life,  of  immortality,  in  which 
they  find  the  certain  pledges  of  the  happiness  of  him  who  is  no 
longer  of  their  number,  of  their  own  hope.  The  Lord  is  pleased 
to  send  them  in  abundance  the  Comforter ;  the  spirit  of  glory  and  of 
God  rests  upon  them;  an  ineffable  balm  is  poured  into  their  wounds, 
and   spreads  there  great  sweetness ;  hence  peace  is  communi- 


FAMILY    WORSHIP.  151 

cated  from  heart  to  heart.  They  taste  in  some  moments  of  a  joy 
almost  celestial.  "  When  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death,  I  Avill  fear  no  evil,  for  Thou  art  with  me,  Thy 
rod  and  Thy  stafl'  shall  comfort  me.  O  Lord,  thou  hast  brought 
up  my  sold  from  the  grave :  For  his  anger  endnreth  but  a  mo- 
ment ;  in  his  favor  is  life ;  Aveeping  may  endure  for  a  night,  but 
joy  Cometh  in  the  morning." 

Who  can  tell,  my  brethren,  what  an  influence  domestic  piety 
may  exert  over  the  whole  face  of  society  .'  What  encouragements 
to  this  duty  cannot  all  find  therein,  from  the  highest  officer  of  state 
to  the  most  humble  artizan  !  If  all  Avould  accustom  themselves 
to  walk  in  this  way,  not  only  in  the  sight  of  man,  but  in  the  eye 
of  God,  how  would  each  one  learn  from  it  to  be  content  in  the 
station  in  which  he  is  placed  !  Good  habits  would  be  formed  ; 
the  powerful  voice  of  conscience  would  be  strengthened;  pru- 
dence, decorum,  talents,  the  social  virtues  would  develope  them- 
selves with  a  strength  altogether  new.  Behold  what  we  may  ex- 
pect for  ourselves  and  for  society ;  "righteousness  has  the  pro- 
mise of  the  life  which  now  is,  and  of  the  life  which  is  to  come." 

DIRECTIONS. 

If  you  would  profit  by  all  the  benefits  of  family  worship,  what 
ought  you  to  do  ?  It  remains  for  us,  my  brethren,  to  give  you 
some  directions  on  this  subject. 

And  first,  as  far  as  it.  is  possible,  these  exercises  of  domestic 
piety  should  not  be  destitute  of  the  lipirit,  of  truth  and  of  life ;  they 
should  not  consist  merely  in  reading  certain  books,  or  in  reciting 
certain  formulas  in  which  the  heart  has  no  share.  A  total  ab- 
sence of  domestic  piety  would  perhaps  be  better  than  such 
mockery.  These  dead  forms  are  too  often  found  in  families. 
But  in  this  age,  when  the  Church  is  everywhere  striving  to  arise 
from  her  ruins,  and  Avhen  the  wind,  of  which  Ezekiel  speaks,  is 
everywhere  breathing  upon  the  dry  bones,  that  they  may  have 
life,  it  is  necessary  that  we  should  return  to  domestic  worship, 
and  should  revive  it,  not  in  its  perishing  and  dead  state,  but  in  a 
state  of  strength  and  life.  What  shall  we  do  to  effect  this  pur- 
pose ?  Let  us  engage  in  the  offices  of  domestic  piety  ;  not  so 
much  as  a  pious  work  which  we  ought  to  fulfill,  for  there  we  may 
fall  over  the  stumbling-block  we  have  noticed,  or  into  pride  ;  but 
let  us  rather  engage  in  them  as  poor  creatures,  who  would  Iiave 
better  riches ;  as  those  who  hunger  and  would  have  nourish- 
ment for  that  which  is  the  noblest  part  of  them.  Perform  it  as  a 
duty,  if  you  Avill,  but  the  rather  as  through  necessity.  The  little 
child  knows  very  well  how  to  ask  for  a  morsel  of  bread,  or  even 
for  milk  of  its  mother ;  .shall  we  not  know  how  to  ask  of  God  for 
his  spiritual  and  pure  milk  ?  "  Blessed  are  ^they  who  hunger 
and  thirst  after  righteousness,  for  they  shall  be  filled." 

A  second  rule  that  we  would  give  you,  my  brethren,  is  this, 
that  yon  shoidd  not  attach  yourselves  (too  exclusively,  too  ser- 
vilely, to  some  particular  form.  Establish,  in  the  first  place,  such 
a  worship  as  is  suited  to  your  own  wants,  and  to  those  of  your 


152  FAMILY    WORSHIP. 

household ;  entire  freedom :  one  day  perhaps  in  this  manner, 
another  day  in  that ;  sometimes  long — another  time  short.  Per- 
haps it  would  be  best  that  this  exercise  should  not  at  first  em- 
brace all  the  individuals  of  the  house,  but  should  take  place  in  a 
narrower  and  more  familiar  circle  ;  in  this  way  you  would  secure 
greater  facility  and  edification.  Follow  these  different  impulses  ; 
the  principal  thing  is,  that  God  be  not  forgotten  under  your  do- 
mestic roof.  "  Keep  yourselves  firm  in  the  liberty  wherewith 
Christ  has  made  you  free,  and  submit  no  longer  to  the  yoke  of 
bondage."  But  with  Avhat,  then,  ought  the  moments  devoted  to 
God,  to  be  occupied  ? 

In  the  first  place,  and  as  it  is  very  natural,  the  reading  of  the  ivord 
of  God ;  occasionally,  perhaps,  that  of  other  Christian  works.  In 
how  many  families  has  this  admirable  book,  this  book  of  the 
nations,  been  in  all  ages,  and  still  continues  to  be,  the  most  pre- 
cious treasure  !  In  how  many  dwellings  has  the  Holy  Bible  diffus- 
ed righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  siibmission 
to  every  authority  constituted  of  God.  The  different  books  compos- 
ing the  Bible,  are  almost  every  one  of  a  different  kind  ;  it  would 
be  difficult  to  enclose  a  greater  variety  in  the  same  volume,  yet 
everywhere  partaking  of  the  same  spirit  of  God.  This  circum- 
stance renders  it  singularly  fit  for  the  notirishment  of  familiesj; 
and  thence  it  happens,  that  so  many  poor  and  obscure  families 
among  Protestant  nations,  with  this  book  in  their  hands,  so  readi- 
ly outstrip  all  others,  and  are  brought  by  it  not  only  into  the  pos 
session  of  eternal  life,  but  still  more  to  a  remarkable  development 
of  intelligence.  The  child,  the  old  man,  the  woman,  the  man, 
find  alike  in  it,  that  which  interests  and  raises  them  to  God.  There 
is  something  in  it  suited  to  every  situation  in  life.  What  abun- 
dant consolations  may  not  all  agitated  and  afflicted  but  faithful 
souls,  draw  from  the  psalms  of  the  Prophet-king !  It  is  conve- 
nient to  read  an  entire  book  in  course,  but  it  is  not  necessary  to 
follow  the  order  in  which  the  different  books  are  found  arranged 
in  the  holy  Volume.  On  the  contrary,  it  would  perhaps  be  better 
to  pass  from  the  New  Testament  to  the  Old,  from  the  Old  to  the 
New;  from  one  of  the  Gospels,  for  example,  to  one  of  the  Pro- 
phecies (how  sublime  is  that  of  Isaiah,  and  how  he  reaches  the 
depths  of  the  soul !),  from  the  Prophets  to  the  Epistles  of  the 
Apostles,  and  then  to  one  of  the  historical  books  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament. It  is  desirable  that  the  reader  should  make  some  applica- 
tion of  that  which  he  reads.  You  know  how  to  speak  of  other 
things  which  you  have  read  ;  here  alone,  shall  sentiments  and 
words  fail  you  .'  Can  you  find  nothing  in  it  which  is  applicable 
to  the  state  of  your  heart,  to  the  situation  of  your  family,  to  the 
character  of  one  of  your  children  ?  Always  read  this  Book,  not 
as  a  history  of  past  time,  but  as  a  word  written  for  you,  addressed 
now  to  you;  you  will  ever  find  in  it  something  to  benefit  you. 
If,  however,  nothing  is  given  you,  be  satisfied  with  asking  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  cause  His  word  to  bear  in  the  heart,  those  fruits 
which  he  has  promised.  "  For,  as  the  rain  cometh  down  and  the 
snow  from  heaven,  and  returneth  not  thither,  but  watereth  the 


FAMILY    WORSHIP.  168 

earth  and  maketh  it  bring  forth  and  bud,  that  it  may  give  seed  to 
the  sower  and  bread  to  the  eater ;  so  sliall  my  word  be  that  goeth 
forth  out  of  my  mouth;  it  shall  not  return  unto  me  void,  but  it 
shall  accomplish  that  which  I  please,  and  it  shall  prosper  in  the 
thing  Avhereto  I  have  sent  it." 

A  second  act  of  worship  should  be  extemporaneous  prayer.  There 
are  doubtless  good  written  prayers;  but  would  you  not  know 
how  to  pray  yourself  with  a  loud  voice  ?  You  know  very  well 
how  to  speak  to  a  friend.  Why  would  you  not  know  how  to  speak 
to  God .'  It  is  so  easy  to  approach  Him  wli«n  one  draws  near  in 
the  name  of  Christ  crucified !  "  Thou  art  God,  very  easy  to  be 
entreated,"  said  David.  "  He  hears  us,"  said  he,  "  before  we  yet 
speak."  If  you  pray  in  a  lew  voice,  would  you  not  also  be  able 
to  pray  aloud  .'  Be  not  so  careful  about  your  words  :  "  prayer  re- 
quires more  of  the  heart  than  of  the  tongue,  more  of  faith  than 
of  reason."  How  can  the  influence  be  other  than  salutary,  when 
the  father  or  mother  of  a  family,  for  example,  prays  aloud  to  God 
in  the  presence  of  their  children,  entering  into  the  details  of  their 
faults  before  G^Dd,  and  asking  for  his  assistance  and  his  favor .' 
And  when  is  a  family  not  in  a  position  in  which  it  is  not  called 
upon  to  raise  its  prayer  to  God  for  deliverance,  for  succor,  for  con- 
solation .'  "  You  shall  seek  me,  and  shall  find  me,  after  that  you 
have  sought  me  with  all  your  heart,"  is  the  promise  of  God. 

A  third  act  of  worship,  which,  if  it  is  practicable,  ought  to 
make  a  part  of  domestic  devotions,  is  singing.  Man  has  now  as- 
sociated song  with  his  labors,  and  above  all  v.'ith  his  pleasures  ; 
but  to  praise  God  is  certainly  its  first  appointment.  It  was  to  this 
that  the  Prophet  King  consecrated  it.  Shall  we  not  devote  it  to 
the  same  .'  If  they  sing  so  many  secular  songs  in  the  household, 
why  can  they  not  sing  to  the  honor  of  God,  who  has  created  and 
has  saved  us  .'  "  Speaking  unto  each  other  in  psalms,  and  hymns, 
and  spiritual  songs,  singing  and  making  melody  in  your  hearts 
unto  God." 

But,  does  some  one  ask,  ichat  time  shall  we  think  thus  on  God, 
and  when  shall  we  draw  together  towards  him  .'  I  reply,  at  the 
time  that  you  wish,  the  time  which  will  best  suit  your  conve- 
nience, which  will  derange  your  affairs  the  least.  Usually  this  is 
in  the  evening  ;  perhaps,  on  account  of  the  fatigues  of  the  day, 
it  woi^ld  be  better  in  the  morning,  or  rather  both  morning  and 
evening.  After  you  have  taken  your  morning  meal,  or  even 
while  taking  it,  could  you  not  consecrate  the  time  that  is  usually 
employed  in  silence,  or  in  useless  trifling,  to  reading  or  hearing 
read  some  words  which  would  lift  up  your  thought  to  God .'  I 
am  about  to  commence  the  day  by  the  first  function  of  animal  ex- 
istence ;  but  thou,  my  soul,  a  spiritual  and  immortal  existence, 
wilt  thou  do  nothing,  wilt  thou  receive  nothing  now  ?  I  am  about 
to  nourish  my  body  with  that  which  God  has  created  ;  but  thou, 
my  soul,  awaken  thyself  and  be  fed  by  the  Creator !  Oh  Lord, 
thou  art  my  portion  for  ever !  Oh  God,  thou  art  my  strong  (iod  ! 
in  the  morning  I  will  seek  thee  !  What  a  blessing,  my  brethren, 
would  such  a  commencement  shed  over  the  whole  dav,  and  to 
7* 


154 


FAMILY    WORSHIP. 


what  happy  dispositions  would  it  dispose  us  !  And  to  you,  Chris- 
tian parents,  'the  evening  of  the  Sabbath,  that  time  which  the 
children  of  irreligious  parents  devote  to  dissipation,  ought  to  be 
especially  precious  and  sacred.  Instruct  then  your  children  in 
the  way  of  the  Lord,  and  your  instruction  at  this  moment  will  be 
more  especially  blessed,  if  they  see  that  you  are  truly  serious  in 
the  work  in  which  you  are  engaged. 

To  all  this,  my  brethren,  add  the  main  thing, — a  life  in  agree- 
ment with  the  sanctity  of  the  worship  which  you  offer  to  God. 
Be  not  different  men  Jpefore  the  altar  of  God,  and  in  the  world,  but 
be  ever  and  everywhere  the  same.  Let  your  conduct  throughout 
the  day  he  a  living  commentary  on  what  you  have  read,  heard, 
or  spoken,  in  the  hour  of  devotion.  Put  in  practice  the  Word,  and 
benothearersonly, — deceivingyourselves  with  vain  words, — for  the 
sacrifice  of  fools  is  abomination  in  the  sight  of  God,  but  he  is 
well-pleased  with  the  entreaties  of  the  righteous.  Such  is  domestic 
worship.  We  have  reminded  you,  my  dear  hearers,  of  the 
motives  which  ought  to  hasten  its  establishment  in  your  families, 
and  we  solicit  all,  but  particularly  the  married,  the  fathers  and 
mothers,  to  put  their  hands  to  the  plough. 

But  do  you  exclaim,  "this  would  be  so  strange  a  thing?" 
What,  my  brethren  ?  is  it  not  still  more  strange,  that  a  family,  pro- 
fessing Christianity, — professing  to  have  a  firm  hope  for  eternity, 
should  advance  towards  that  eternity  without  manifesting  in  its 
midst  any  sign  of  this  hope,  any  preparation,  any  conversation, — 
perhaps,  alas !  without  even  a  thought  on  these  things  ?  Oh  I 
how  strange  is  conduct  like  this  ! 

But,  do  you  say  again,  "  It  is  a  thing  of  low  repute,  inglorious 
in  itself,  and  kindled  with  a  thousand  indignities  ?"  And  who  is 
then  the  greatest ; — that  father* of  a  family,  in  patriarchal  days, 
who  was  also  a  priest  of  God — who  supported  his  own  paternal 
authority,  and  imparted  to  it  a  divine  unction  by  bending  his 
knee,  with  his  children,  before  his  Father  and  their  Father,  or  that 
man  of  the  world,  in  our  day,  whose  mind  is  only  occupied 
with  vain  pursuits,  who  forgot  his  own  and  the  eternal  de.=tinies 
of  his  children,  ^whose  house  is  without  God?  Oh!  what  a 
reproach  ! 

But  do  you  further  object  ?  "  Different  ages, — different  manners  - 
these  things  were  well  enough  once ;  but  now  everything  is 
changed  !"  It  is  just  because  everything  is  changed  that  we  must 
hasten  to  set  up  again  the  domestic  altar  in  the  bosom  of  families, 
lest  the  Aveak  bonds,  which  still  preserve  these  families,  should 
be  dissolved, — involving,  in  their  ruin,  both  Church  aird  State.  It 
is  not  until  after  disease  has  spread  with  great  violence  that  re- 
medies become  useless,  and  before  despairing  of  a  man's  life,  we 
give  him  at  least  the  most  powerful  preservatives. 

You,  Avho  by  the  grace  of  God  have  with  good  resolutions,  and 
good  dispositions,  already  made  the  attempt,  do  not  be  discourag- 
ed ;  make  another  trial  still ;  have  recourse  to  God  m  prayer ;  ask 
Him  to  guide  you,  to  sustain  you,  to  make  you  united ;  ask  Jesus 


FAMILY    WORSHIP.  155 

to  be  with  you,  for  where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together-  in  his 
name,  he  will  be  in  their  7nidst. 

But,  my  brethren,  before  an  altar  can  be  raised  to  God  in  your 
households,  there  must  be  one  set  up  in  your  hearts  !  And  is  it 
found  therein,  my  brethren?  Oh  !  if  I  could  draw  aside  the  veil; 
if  [  could  now  penetrate  and  read  the  hearts  of  those  who  listen 
to  me,  what  shoiild  I  behold  ?  Or  rather,  Lord  !  what  seest  thou 
in  our  hearts,  thou  for  whom  there  is  no  veil,  and  before  whom 
all  is  naked  and  uncovered  ?  In  your  heart,  my  dear  hearer,  I 
discover  an  altar  raised  to  pleasure  and  worldliness ;  upon  it  you 
offer  your  morning  sacrifice ;  and  the  smoke  of  your  evening 
sacrifice  ascends  even  throughout  the  night,  filled  with  intoxica- 
tion and  stupefaction.  In  your  heart,  my  dear  hearer,  I  find  an 
altar  to  this  world's  goods,  to  riches,  to  mammon.  In  yours,  my 
dear  hearer,  I  see  an  altar  erected  to  yourself — you  are  your  own 
idol,  wliich  you  exalt  above  everything  else  ;  for  whom  you  desire 
all  things,  and  at  whose  feet  you  would  see  the  whole  world  pros- 
trate itself!  My  brethren,  is  there  an  altar  in  your  heart  raised  to 
the  living  and  true  God .'  Are  you  the  temple  of  God,  and  dwelleth 
the  Spirit  of  God  within  you?  So  long  as  there  is  no  altar  erected 
in  your  souls  to  God,  there  can  be  none  in  your  families ;  for  what 
participation  has  justice  with  iniquity  ?  •  And  what  connection  is 
there  between  light  and  darkness  .'  What  concord  has  Christ  with 
Belial .'     And  what  agreement  has  the  temple  of  God  tvith  idols  ? 

Be  converted  then  in  your  hearts  !  die  unto  the  world,  unto  sin, 
and  above  all,  to  yourselves,  and  live  to  God  in  Jesus  Christ,  our 
Lord.  Immortal  souls,  Christ  has  redeemed  you  at  a  great  price  ! 
He  has  yielded  up  his  life  on  the  cross  for  you  ;  and  know  that 
if  one  died  for  all,  it  was  that  they  who  live  should  no  longer  live 
imto  themselves,  but  should  live  in  newness  of  life  unto  Him,  who 
died  and  rose  again.  Depart,  therefore,  from  idols,  and  touch  not 
any  vile  thing,  and  I  will  receive  you,  and  I  will  be  to  you  a 
father,  and  you  shall  be  to  me  for  sons  and  for  daughters,  saith 
the  Lord  God  Almighty. 

Oh  !  my  brethren,  happy  isthat  family  which  has  embraced  that 
God,  who  has  said  :  "  I  will  dwell  in  the  midst  of  you,  and  will 
walk  with  you,  and  ye  shall  be  unto  me  for  sons  and  for  daugh- 
ters." Happy  for  time,  happy  for  eternity  !  How  can  you  hope  to 
meet  your  children  with  Christ,  in  Heaven,  if  you  do  not  seek 
with  them  Christ,  on  earth .'  How  can  you  meet  agaiu  your  family 
on  high,  if  you  do  not  concern  yourselves  in  your  families  below, 
with  the  things  whicli  are  above.  But  the  Christian  family  who 
have  been  united  in  Jesus,  will  be  joined  together  around  the 
glories  of  Him,  whom  they  have  loved,  not  having  seen.  It  will 
but  exchange  its  mean  and  perishable  tabernacle  for  the  immense 
and  eternal  mansion  of  God.  Instead  of  an  humble  family  of  the 
earth,  united  by  the  same  bonds  with  all  the  families  in  the  Hea- 
vens, it  will  have  become  one  glorious  family  which  no  man  can 
number.  She,  with  the  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand,  will  en- 
compass the  throne  of  God,  saying,  as  she  said  upon  earth,  but 
with  joy,  and  with  glory :  <'  Lord,  thou  art  worthy  to  receive  glory, 
and  honor,  and  power  !" 


156  FAMILY    WORSHIP. 

Oh  my  brethren,  if  there  is  now  a  single  father  or  mother,  who 
will  resolve  to  assemble  together  around  the  Lord  !  if  there  is  but 
one  person  not  yet  sustaining  domestic  relations,  who  has  resolved, 
w^hen  he  shall  have  formed  them,  to  raise  an  altar  to  God  in  his 
house,  and  in  future  years  shall  put  his  resolution  into  practice, 
causing  abundant  blessings  to  descend  on  him  and  his  ;  then  will 
I  render  thanks  to  God  for  having  spoken.  Oh  my  dear  hearers  ! 
may  the  Lord  so  have  touched  your  soul,  that  you  will  now  ex- 
claim :  As  for  me  and  my  house,  we  will  serve  the  Lord  .'  amen. 


CHRISTIAI  STUDIES: 


FRAGMENTS  GATHERED  FROM  A  COURSE  OF  PRACTICAL  THEOLOGY. 


TRANSLATED  BY  M.  M.  BACKUS. 


•'  Viderint  theologi,  ne  si  solitis  vel  quibuslibet  viis  immaneant  .  ,  ."  . , 
quod  omitti  non  possit  sine  damno,  a  negotio  eorum,  qui  a  nobis  institu- 
endi  sunt,  mal^  secludant,  vel  ad  iniquam  exiguitatem  condemnent.'' — 
C.  J.  NiTzscH,  Observat.  ad  Theologi.  Practic. 


CHRISTIAN  STUDIES. 


FROM  THE  "  EVANGELICAL  GAZETTE"— FIRST  PUBLISHED 

IN  1833. 


FAITH. 

In  nothing  has  there  been  a  greater  variety  than  in  the  ideas  which 
have  obtained  on  faith, — and  as  there  is  something  of  truth  in  all 
that  has  been  said  on  this  subject,  it  seems  to  be  the  cause  of  in- 
terminable disputes.  One  considers  it  only  in  its  principle,  ano- 
ther looks  merely  at  its  efiects.  Yet  another  believes  the  same 
elements  of  invariable  and  infallible  tru.^t  to  be  divided  between 
them ; — St.  James  and  St.  Paul  do  not  seem  to  have  been  at  all 
understood.  It  has  happened  now  according  to  the  saying  of 
Paul  writing  to  the  Corinthians,  that  men  have  sought  out  many  in- 
ventions and  have  "  ten  thousand  masters  in  Christ" — notwithstand- 
ing, the  unity  of  faith  is  not  a  chimera,  lliere  is  one  faith,  as  there 
is  one  only  salvation  of  which  it  is  the  object,  and  only  one  Lord 
who  imparts  it. — What  means  have  we  for  reconciling  all  this  ^ 
In  our  opinion  the  following: — 

It  is  necessary  simply  to  put  each  jiart  in  its  own  place.  Do 
not  let  us  invert  the  natural  order  of  divine  operations  ;  let  us  not 
place  the  end  before  the  beginning,  the  effect  before  the  cause, 
the  fruit  before  the  plant  by  which  it  is  borne,  nor  the  plant  itself 
before  the  root  from  which  it  is  to  germinate — (Rom.  xi.l8.)  Let 
us  have  respect  unto  the  Word,  and  its  divine  pages  will  reveal  all, 
explain  all,  and  satisfy  every  reasonable  curiosity. 

At  the  first  enunciation  of  the  term  faith  there  arises  before  the 
mental  vision  an  iniique  and  complete  picture  of  that  light  which 
a  knowledge  of  evangelical  doctrines  bestoAvs  on  man,  as  well  as 
of  the  convictions  which  the  proof  of  that  trust  engenders  in  the 
mind,  and  of  the  sentiments  which  that  species  of  conviction 
awakens  in  the  soul,  and  which  are  its  inseparable  companions — 
a  picture,  in  fine,  of  the  deeds  to  which  faith  stimulates  us;  of 
the  fervor  it  imparts  to  the  will,  of  the  life  it  communicates  to  our 
zeal,  and  of  the  constancy  it  confers  on  the  obedience  of  the 
Christian.  It  is,  in  a  word,  the  entire  life  of  the  believer.  We  can 
dignify  with  the  title  of  true  faith,  only  that  complete  outline  of  zeal 
and  efficient  Christianity  which  alone  was  that  of  the  primitive  dis- 
ciples of  Jesus,  and  that  which  alone  has  never  belied  the  excel- 


160  CHRISTIAN    STUDIES. 

lence  of  its  origin.  Is  this  demonstrable  ?  Beyond  all  question ; 
the  Scriptures  are  rigorously  definite  upon  this  point,  and  reject 
without  mercy  every  phantom  of  faith,  all  empty  appearance,  all 
purely  nominal  profession,  and  all  unfruitful  pretensions  to  its  gifts. 

As  a  consequence  of  this,  all  treatises,  religious  systems,  and 
nicely  adjusted  catechisms,  give  themselves  ample  latitiide  on  the 
subject.  It  has  not  been  deemed  sufficient  to  define  faith  as  a  stiong 
belief,  it  has  become  necessary  to  reclothe  it  in  numberless  new 
characters,  by  which  it  should  acquire  cleanness,  depth,  fervor, 
efficacy  and  life. 

What  has  been  the  consequence  .'  They  have  mingled  with  it 
some  show  of  faith,  yet  so  little,  that  it  is  impossible  to  offer  it  as 
a  resource  to  those  who  are  destitute  and  ready  to  perish;  they 
have  made  it  a  by-path  to  those  who  have  neither  the  time  nor  in- 
clination to  travel  the  long  and  difficult  road  of  obedience. 

How  can  one  be  saved  by  it  ?  I  dare  not  say  he  is  sure  that 
he  possesses  it ;  no  one  would  be  so  rash  as  to  testify  of  himself 
that  he  haM  really  acquired  it,  so  full  is  it  of  forms  and  of  condi- 
tions ;  it  would  be  necessary  to  any  degree  of  assiu'ance  in  the 
matter,  to  have  first  obtained  perfection  itself,  to  have  become  a 
sainted  disciple,  and  who  dare  to  give  himself  out  for  such  ?  Hu- 
mility seems  to  forbid  it,  till  at  length  it  has  become  a  point  of 
modesty  among  Christians,  an  element  of  security  as  1  have  al- 
ready said,  that  strong  assurance,  that  one  cannot  know  positively 
that  he  possesses  faith. 

Was  this  the  primitive  design — the  end  of  the  preaching  of  faith, 
which  should  conduct  by  a  certain  way,  which  the  law  had  failed 
to  attain .'  Who  could  justify  the  circumcision  by  faith,  and  the  un- 
circumcision  also  by  faith  ?  I  dare  to  make  the  assertion, — no  one  ; 
and  I  add,  moreover,  that  men  have  completely  lost  sight  of  the 
primitive  types  of  that  faith  and  its  most  striking  examples — that 
faith  which  our  Saviour  dignified  with  the  title,  and  commended, 
with  the  highest  praises,  seeming,  at  the  first  blush,  to  expect 
nothing  else.  Faith,  such  as  duties  and  human  works  have  made 
and  described  it,  is  no  longer  that  which  was  conspicuous  in  the 
Canaanite  woman,  who  said,  "  if  I  may  but  touch  his  garment  I 
shall  be  whole,"  or  the  centurion  of  Capernaum,  who  said,  "  but 
speak  the  word  only  and  thy  servant  shall  be  healed  ;"  and  which 
then  animated  so  many  simple  minds,  destitute  of  all  that  is  now 
supposed  of  such  essential  importance  to  true  believers. 

Without  misapprehending,  therefore,  the  effects  and  tendencies 
of  faith, — all  the  developments  it  can  receive  or  furnish,  and  all 
the  riches  which  it  is  able  to  disclose,  and  the  entrance  to  the 
possession  of  which  it  opens  to  its  votaries,  it  concerns  us,  in  my 
judgment,  to  have  recourse  to  some  very  simjile  idea — the  very 
commencement  of  the  way,  in  fact, — for  it  is  but  one, — namely, 
the  way  of  God.  It  is  not  an  end  to  reach,  but  a  road,  a  route,  a 
path  to  follow.  From  the  moment  that  the  foot  is  truly  planted  in 
it,  the  believer  has  but  to  take  one  step,  and  he  is  in  the  faith 
which  he  has  begun  to  exercise. 

Faith  is  defined  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  just  as  we  define  senti- 
ments, by  its  results,  rather  than  by  its  essence.    Faith,  accord- 


CHRISTIAN    STUDIES.  161 

ing  to  him  (Heb.  xi.  1),  is,  to  him  who  possesses  it  such,  that 
he  ahead y  has  to  a  certain  degree  the  good  that  it  promises ;  and 
its  subject  hves  always  in  the  presence  of"  God  and  eternal  reaU- 
ties,  and  is  no  longer  under  the  influence  of  sensible  objects. 

But  what  is  it,  we  would  ask  here,  what  is  this  principle,  the 
effect  of  which  is  so  powerful  as  to  give  a  reahty  to  things  as  yet 
invisible  ?     What  is  faith  in  its  foundation — in  its  first  act  ? 

Faith,  in  its  first  elementary  act,  is  belief;  the  taking,  the  lay- 
ing hold  of  the  soul  upon  the  Word  of  God.  If  the  truth  of  God 
is  iinparted  by  instruction,  then  faith  receives  it  in  the  Word 
which  contains  it — it  seizes,  apprehends,  and  comprehends  this 
hving  seed.  If  the  truth  gf  God  assumes  form  in  facts  and 
promises,  then  faith  accepts  and  embraces  them,  not  in  a  pas- 
sive manner,  which  would  be  dead  and  indifferent,  but  in  an 
active  manner ;  it  fastens  itself  to  them,  it  attaches  itself  to  them, 
it  submits  to  their  influence,  and  adopts  whatever  consequences 
they  may  lead  to.  If  this  truth  is  a  commandment,  faith  becomes 
an  obedience — called  the  obedience  of  faith  ;  if  it  be  a  doctrine, 
then  faith  becomes  a  profession :  "  obey  the  doctrine,"  says  St. 
Paul;  "  obey  the  truth  through  the  spirit,"  says  St.  Peter  (Rom. 
vi.  17. ;  1  Peter  i.  22). 

Faith  thus  receiving  this  truth  of  God,  communicates  through 
it  to  man  a  knowledge  of  divine  things.  It  is  the  illumination 
of  which  the  Evangelist  speaks  (John  i.  7.  ;  2  Cor.  iv.  6.  ;  Eph.  i. 
18). — But  it  gives  something  more  than  light  and  knowledge,  it 
affects  the  whole  man.  Like  the  sun,  which  at  once  imparts 
both  life  and  heat,  it  is  also  a  resuscitator  as  well  as  light  to  the 
soul  that  feels  its  influence.  Like  the  fire  which  purifieth  all 
things,  it  purifies  the  heart, — "  God  has  purified  the  hearts  of  the 
Gentiles  through  faith"  (Acts  xv.  9).  It  is  the  introduction  of  a 
new  principle,  which  renovates  the  entire  man. 

Faith,  if  we  may  so  speak,  takes  God  at  his  word — receives 
the  truth  instantaneously,  and  lays  hold  on  eternal  life  the  moment 
it  is  offered  (1  Tim.  vi.  12). 

Thus  conceived,  it  is  unique,  and  the  same  throughout  the 
whole  extent  of  the  Bible.  The  faith  of  the  elders  ("  for  by  it 
the  elders  obtained  a  good  report,"  Heb.  xi.  2)  is  only  that  of  the 
New  Testament.  To  the  one  as  to  the  other,  to  the  first  equally 
with  the  last,  it  is  an  overture,  an  entrance  of  the  divine  principle 
into  the  soul,  which  has  operated  everywhere  uniformly  Avhen 
it  has  operated  unto  salvation.  It  is  a  hold  which  God  has  had 
upon  every  species  of  sou),  whatever  may  have  been  its  dispo- 
sition. It  is  a  handle  by  which  to  rescue  them  from  the  seduc- 
tions of  the  world,  and  the  engrossing  cares  of  life.  By  this  the 
Lord,  who  knoweth  them  that  are  his,  chooses  them/;-o??2  the  world, 
that  he  may  keep  them  from  tlie  evil  thereof  God  has  done  it  all 
through  faith;  by  its  influence  only  does  he  operate  on  man,  and 
througli  man,  as  there  is  nothing  accomplished  in  the  world  but 
by  his  sovereign  power.  And  as  the  influence  of  God  upon  men 
is  attributed  to  men  themselves,  according  to  appearances,  the 
men  (of  God)  have  done  it  all  through  faith,  and  through  it3 


162  CHRISTIAN    STUDIES. 

influence  alone.  Here,  then,  is  the  secret  of  the  eleventh  chapter 
of  Hebrews,  otherwise  inexplicable;  but  thus  comprehended, 
it  becomes  the  key  of  the  Scriptures,  the  chain  of  revelations, 
the  summary  of  divine  dispensations. 

Beautiful  unity  of  faith  !  Misunderstood  by  the  world,  and  by 
philosophy  1     "  They  are  all  dead  in  faith." 

For  its  operation  in  all  time,  notwithstanding  the  diversity  of 
eras,  and  upon  every  species  of  person,  of  character,  of  qualities, 
and  of  different  forms,  God  has  given  but  one  way,  simple  and  in- 
dependent of  these  varied  accidents.  Otherwise,  that  which  has 
happened  to  one,  would  not  have  happened  to  another;  and  the 
same  salvation  Avould  have  been  applicable  only  to  men  placed 
in  analogous  situations,  or  assimilated  by  a  common  education. 
But  no  !  the  faith  of  Abel  is  the  faith  which  is  yet  preached  in  the 
Church  as  in  an  eternal  school ;  the  faith  of  Jairus,  the  leader  of  a 
synagogue,  that  of  the  Syro-Pha?nician,  who  came  from  without, 
and  that  of  the  Roman  centurion,  although  a  Gentile,  are  not  dif- 
ferent in  capacity  or  object ;  for  all  lay  hold  on  a  truth  which 
penetrates  them,  a  reality  which  strikes  them,  a  promise  which 
wins,  rejoices,  and  consoles  them,  a  succor  "which  relieves,  and 
a  divine  power  which,  for  them,  clothes  Nature  with  a  new 
aspect,  and  all  attain  their  end  on  the  very  spot  where  they  stand  : 
so  that  the  chain  of  true  disciples  is  continued  uninterrupted  to 
the  end  of  time  ;  so  that  He,  who  should  be  most  stringent  in  the 
act  or  form  of  faith,  inasmuch  as  he  cannot  misapprehend  it,  and 
cannot  be  imposed  on,  ajjproves,  commands,  and  testifies  of  them. 
"  Be  it  unto  you  according  to  your  faith."  "  I  have  not  found  so 
great  faith,  no  not  in  Israel."  Who,  then,  shall  dare  to  say  that 
this  is  not  faith  in  its  simplest,  clearest,  and  most  powerful  form  ? 
when  the  Master  himself  has  said  that  this  is  the  virtue  of  faith, 
and  that  at  bottom  it  is  nothing  else.  It  refers  beforehand  to  Him 
future  ;  subsequently  to  Him  present ;  and  once  absent  from  the 
earth,  it  refers  to  Him  past  and  to  come,  with  entire  submission. 
"  Whom  having  not  seen  ye  love  ;  in  whom,  though  now  ye  see 
him  not,  yet  believing,  ye  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full 
of  glory,  receiving  the  end  of  your  faith,  even  the  salvation  ^of 
your  souls." 

On  the  other  hand,  the  regenerative  power  of  Christ  acts  wholly 
spiritually — every  one  receives  the  simplest  definition  of  faith  in 
regard  to  worldly  matters,  Avhy  not  then  in  spiritual .'  It  is  justi- 
fying righteousness  which  becomes  its  object;  it  is  not  a  mere 
healing  of  the  body,  but  a  blessing  shed  on  the  entire  soul  of 
man.  "  We  believe  from  the  heart  to  obtain  righteousness,"  says 
St.  Paul ;  "  for  therein  is  the  righteousness  of  God  revealed  from 
faith  to  faith,  and  reigns  in  all,  and  over  all  who  believe."  Who, 
then,  will  refuse  to  believe  it  in  this  its  fullest,  richest,  and  most 
obvious  meaning  .' 

The  unity  of  faith  thus  apprehended  is  admirably  perfect,  be- 
ca.use  it  is  a  unity  in  every  sense — an  historical  unity — a  unity  of 
cause  and  effect.  We  can  truly  say  of  it,  here  is  one  faith.  We 
can  thus  speak  of  it  independently  of  time  and  circumstance,  in- 


CHRISTIAN    STUDIES.  163 

cident  to  different  ages.  There  has  been  a  j)rogress  in  all  other 
things,  but  none  in  faith,  or  rather  there  is  a  progress  in  the  faith 
of  every  believer,  an  onward  progress  from  "  strength  to 
strength ;"  but  there  never  can  be  any  increase  in  the  nature  or 
essence  of  faith,  for  God  is  unchangeable.  Man  goes  on  to  per- 
fection ;  he  believes  ;  he  goes  on  from  faith  to  faith  (if  indeed  he 
has  commenced  this  divine  life):  but  faith  never  changes  from 
century  to  century — never  becomes  other  than  that  it  always  has 
been.  Abraham  will  always  be  the  type,  the  model ;  and  those 
who  have  the  faith  of  Abraham,  are  and  ever  will  be  his  chil- 
dren. 

He  whom  God  has  called,  like  Abraham,  will  obey  ;  lie  to 
whom  Christ  has  said,  as  to  Levi,  "  follow  me,"  will  also  walk 
in  his  footsteps.  Every  Christian  feels  the  force  of  the  Centuri- 
on's words  and  faith — "  I  say  luito  this  man  go,  and  he  goeth ;  to 
another  do  this,  and  he  doeth  it."  It  is  thus  God  would  have  us 
believe  and  live  ;  and  this  faith,  so  simple,  childlike,  and  yet  in- 
stantaneous, is  supported  by  that  cloud  of  witnesses  who  have 
already  attained  to  its  full  fruition — "  of  Moses  who  left  Egypt, 
not  fearing  the  anger  of  the  king,  of  Gideon,  of  Barak,  of  Sam- 
son, &.C.  It  is  the  faith  of  the  learned  Nicodemus,  of  the  just 
man,  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  of  Zaccheus  the  publican,  and  of  the 
simple-hearted  Mary.  All  else  is  only  opposition,  doubt,  blind 
groping,  or  vain  pretension,  false  and  faithless.  All  who  have 
ever  believed,  "  the  multitude  of  those  who  have  believed"  (Acts  ii.  42), 
all  continuing  faithful  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Apostles,  will  ever 
be  a  cloud  of  witnesses  to  show  what  kind  of  faith  we  should 
exercise. 

We  seem  to  have  taken  at  least  one  important  step  in  our  day 
towards  the  truth — that  of  valuing  useful  knowledge  above  every 
other  consideration.  It  is  but  a  few  years  since  evangelical 
truth  was  refused,  because  unsupported  by  mathematical  demon- 
stration ;  and  failing  to  see  all  that  appertained  to  faith,  of  prompt 
discernment  and  confident  profession,  reduced  to  the  form  of  an 
equation,  they  have  pronounced  it  a  string  of  abstruse  definitions, 
vain,  incorrect  fables,  powerless  to  persuade.  Let  us  be  thankful 
that  we  do  not  now  live  under  the  influence  of  these  ill  founded 
prejudices — this  superficial  judgment.  No  !  faith  is  the  instru- 
ment by  which  God  saves  man,  and  man  may  lay  hold  on  God  ; 
it  is  the  channel,  the  medium  of  communication  between  the  visi- 
ble and  invisible,  the  natural  and  supernatural,  the  human  'and 
divine;  faith,  as  an  immediate  and  transcendent  faculty,  shall  go 
on  conquering  and  to  conquer,  till  it  shall  be  received  by  all  who 
are  truly  wise,  as  that  alone  embodies  the  highest  elements  of 
reason. 


It  is  necessary  to  commence  here,  since  our  concern  is  with  an 
instrumental  faculty,  or  rather  with  all  our  faculties  taken  together. 
To  say  that  religion  should  enlighten  man,  that  it  should  be  his 
guide,  is  only  saying  that  he  should  be  guided  by  reason,  for  rea- 


164  CHRISTIAN    STUDIES, 

son  properly  is  the  entire  mental  part  of  man,  the  means  by  which 
he  acquires  all  knowledge.  But  if,  in  place  of  the  vague  term  reli- 
gion, we  substitute  that  of  Christianity,  the  Gospel,  and  if  the 
Gospel  preaches,  recommends,  inspires  faith,  as  a  primary  means, 
if  Christianity  is  a  religion  of  faith,  our  theme  then  is  enlightened 
and  guided  by  faith,  -which  thus  becomes  its  master  and  school- 
master, whose  science,  object,  and  study  are  the  Gospel. 

Speaking  thus,  we  assxu'edly  do  not  wrong  reason — it  is  ■without 
dispute  the  master  faculty  of  man ;  his  head  or  rather  his  eye, 
placed  as  a  sentinel  on  the  height  of  this  moving  tower,  to  watch 
the  dangers  which  threaten  him,  and  avoid  the  snares  which  sur- 
round him.  It  serves  both  as  a  light  and  sentinel  while  the  night 
lasts,  and  even  wlien  the  day  breaks,  it  is  a  day  which  only  makes 
clearer  those  objects  it  faintly  observed — the  first  rays  which 
bring  the  pure  light.  It  receives  and  profits  by  them,  and  only 
gains  knowledge  through  them.  This  comparison  involves  the 
principle  of  an  irrefragable  demonstration. 

In  the  mmistry  of  the  reconciliation  of  the  Gospel,  it  is  to  the  rea- 
son of  man  that  all  appeals  are  made.  But  for  this  it  is  first  necessary 
to  form  an  accurate  estimate  of  its  capacity.  To  the  rightful  ex- 
ercise of  its  privileges,  we  must  not  exaggerate  or  abuse  them, 
much  less  turn  against  God  the  sovereign  reason  (otherwise  called 
the  WORD,  'Xoyoi)  he  has  given  us  to  submit  to  him.  How  can  he 
■who  has  never  humbled  himself  before  God,  nor  surrendered  the 
weapons  of  his  unrighteous  warfare,  lead  others  "  to  the  way  of 
peace"  by  the  path  of  reconciliation  ?  To  such  a  spiritual  guide 
St.  Paul  says  in  vain,  "  Submit  yourselves  to  God,  resist  the  devil 
(or  the  rebellious  spirit),  and  he  will  flee  from  you." 

How  can  he  triumph  over  rebellious  men  "  who  obey  not  the 
truth,"  who  remains  himself  a  rebel  and  gainsayer  of  the  Gos- 
pel of  the  grace  of  God  ?  Hoav  can  he  lead  captive  souls  to  Christ, 
who  has  not  first  given  himself  to  him  .'  How  can  he  spread  in 
the  world  this  victory  which  is  our  faith,  whose  weapons  are  yet 
carnal,  and  who  fights  not  with  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  but  with 
vain  reasonings  (James  i.  22).  Now  this  is  the  case  of  a  large 
number  of  divines  or  spiritual  guides,  who  cherish  the  most  false 
ideas  both  with  regard  to  their  own  reason  and  that  of  those  to 
whom  it  is  their  duty  to  speak  of  the  things  of  God.  If  there  be  a 
subject  on  which  they  are  in  error,  it  is  certainly  this  of  reason. 
After  all  that  has  been  given  us  for  the  exercise  of  reason  in  mat- 
ters of  faith,  how  is  it  yet  misapprehended .' 

Do  not  think  that  we  have  come  before  you  to  declaim  against 
one  of  the  holiest  prerogatives  of  men.  No — let  us  rather  deter- 
mine its  true  province,  and  thus  assured,  facilitate  and  perfect  its 
highest  aim.  You  say  that  it  is  reason  which  distinguishes  us 
from  brutes ;  we  will  place  it  still  higher.  Bv;t  we  add,  that  it 
places  us  far  below  men,  if  it  does  not  raise  us  to  God  himself, 
and  receive  the  impress  of  his  divine  Spirit;  for  alone  and  de- 
pendent on  itself,  it  can  only  lead  us  in  blind  paths,  precipitate  us 
in  the  most  frightful  errors,  down  hideous  precipices,  while  the 
brutes,  imable  to  pass  beyond  certain  limits,  have  consequently  a 


CHRISTIAN    STUDIES.  165 

fixed,  imperfectible,  determinate  nature,  which  never  deceives 
them. 

Reason  is  the  eye  of  the  soul,  and  not  its  torch.  For  the  eye  is 
not  the  hght :  it  is  merely  the  organ  by  which  light  enters — an 
organ  to  the  body  is  as  a  faculty  to  the  soul. 

There  is,  however,  a  light.  It  shines  forth  from  the  Gospel,  not 
vague  and  indefinite,  but  positive,  determined — even  personified. 
(See  John  i.  8.)  Somuch  the  more  efficacious  is  that  light.  "The 
hght  manifests  all  things.  All  hidden  things  are  made  manifest 
by  the  light.  Has  any  one  regarded  it .'  We  are  all  enlightened 
by  it.  In  thy  light  we  see  light.  I  am  the  light  of  the  world,  of  all 
men  who  come  into  the  world."  (Who  shall  except  himself  from 
this  rule  .')  Purify  yourselves,  that  you  may  also  become  lights. 
Formerly  you  were  darkness,  now  ye  are  the  lights  of  the  Lord. 
Such  is  the  theory  of  faith.     It  is  entirely  i^hilosophical. 

That  this  light  may  be  effective,  it  must  be  received,  admitted, 
till  it  penetrate  the  eye  of  the  soul — its  organ  of  vision,  of 
intuition ;  that  so  it  .shall  reach  the  depths  of  the  soul,  its  most 
secret  sanctuaiy.  With  the  best  eyes,  it  is  plain  one  can  see  no- 
thing in  a  dark  room.  At  midday  it  will  be  night  in  a  house 
closely  shut.  It  is  not  therefore  the  eye  which  makes  light — but 
is  made  light.  Or  if  we  say  it  enlightens  in  its  turn,  we  do  not 
speak  correctly.  Material  light  is  that  which  enables  man  to  see 
and  to  read — it  is  a  .space,  a  medium  between  him  and  exterior 
objects,  by  ■which  he  acquires  the  idea  of  their  existence — their 
presence  or  approach  is  revealed  to  him.  Much  more  then  is 
this  true  of  the  divine  light.  It  reveals,  it  demonstrates,  it  opens, 
it  instructs ;  and  here  we  come  back  to  the  definition  of  faith: 
"  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen."  Thus  Christ,  Light  of  the  soul, 
Reason  even  of  reason,  wishes  to  be  received.  It  is  upon  those 
who  have  received  him  that  he  has  conferred  this  right  of  divine 
adoption.  |This  is  the  cause^of  condemnation  and  also  of  error,  that 
"  the  darkness  received  not  the  light,"  as  there  would  be  an  end- 
less night  to  the  world  if  the  sun  never  rose  upon  it,  or  if  an  im- 
penetrable cloud  hung  over  it  which  intercepted  its  rays.  These 
are  no  metaphors — they  are  realities — ideas  almost  mathemati- 
cally true. 

Light  has  only  to  appear,  and  shine  upon  the  organ  to  which  is 
appropriated  and  given.  It  is  its  own  demonstration.  It  does 
not  prove  its  own  existence,  it  simply  offers  itself  to  the  eye,  and 
seeing  is  evidence  sufficiently  strong — like  the  definition  of  the 
word  evidence — that  which  is  so  plain  and  stands  forth  so  boldly 
that  it  cannot  be  proved.  The  internal  evidence  of  the  Bible, 
therefore,  particularly  of  the  gospel,  is  more  powerful  to  con- 
vince the  soul  than  the  whole  assemblage  of  external  evidence. 
If  a  light  is  held  before  me,  do  I  need  one  to  tell  me  it  is  a  candle  .' 
I  see  it:  it  shines  upon  me.  Thus  the  evidence,  the  illumination 
of  the  truth  of  Christ  is  brighter,  and  goes  farther  than  all  these 
proofs,  which  should,  say  they,  precede  it.  By  this  short,  rapid, 
and  perfect  way  is  a  system  of  faith  formed,  so  clear  that  one 
would  only  become  confused  who  should  endeavor  to  simplify  it. 


166  CHRISTIAN    STUDIES. 

Thus  we  see  how  one  may  commence  the  study  of  the  Word  of 
faith  with  a  preconceived  opinion  This  disposition  toward  faith 
will  assist,  mucli  more  will  it  lead  farther,  than  the  system  of  phi- 
losophical doubt  many  have  instituted  in  the  research  of  truth. 
It  will  be  one  thing  to  reason  along  with  faith,  or  to  look  wnth  an 
eye  which  sees  perspicuously  ;  and  quite  another  to  search  for 
the  reasons  of  faith  with  a  reason  which  sets  out  with  refusing  10 
believe. 

Thus  apprehended,  the  words  of  Christ  are  easily  understood. 
It  is  a  clear  light  itself,  or  which  promises  to  become  one,  as  the 
Saviour  has  said  :  "  The  eye  is  the  light  of  the  body  ;  if  therefore 
thine  eye  be  light,  thy  whole  body  shall  be  full  of  light."  These 
words  contain  the  most  valuable  information.  How  can  one  see 
clearly  with  diseased  eyes .'  How  can  one  make  a  right  use  of  a 
perverted  faculty  .'  How  dare  one  pretend  to  be  enlightened  or 
judge  of  His  Word,  which  judges  not  only  himself,  but  the  thoughts 
and  intentions  of  the  heart  ?  Would  it  not  be  better  first  to  heal  his 
diseased  organ,  to  recover  his  reason  .'  And  in  order  to  recover 
his  reason,  should  he  not,  like  the  staggering  invalid,  learn  to  walk 
step  by  step,  foot  by  foot,  or  rather  after  the  infallible  guide  which 
is  given  him .' 

From  that  time,  the  character,  the  design,  the  capacity  of  rea- 
son is  marked.  We  say  in  two  words,  that  one  should  become 
scholar  and  not  master,  should  learn  to  be  reasonable,  not  a  rea- 
soner.  It  is  said  of  the  true  wisdom,  that  it  comethfrom  above,  and 
that  it  is  not  cavilling.  Yet  it  is,  without  doubt,  right  that  one 
should  be  able  to  judge  for  himself,  to  defend  himself,  as  is  recom- 
mended in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  "  Are  you  that  are  Avithout  able 
to  judge  of  the  least  things  .'"  "  Judge  yourselves,  whether  it  is 
right  before  God  to  obey  you  rather  than  God."  But,  at  the  same 
time,  take  heed  how  you  judge.  "Judge  not  according  to  appear- 
ance, but  judge  righteous  judgment."  "  Prove  the  spirits."  "  Exa- 
mine all  things."  "  Inquire  carefully  what  is  the  will  of  the  Lord." 
"  I  speak  as  to  ivise  men  ;  judge  ye  what  I  say." 

And  here  let  us  rectify  a  common  prejudice.  Vain  is  that  ap- 
plication which  is  used  without  distinctness,  according  to  the  ap- 
parent sense  of  these  last  words.  It  concerns  a  sincere  Christian 
here,  to  be  assured  of  his  faith  and  of  his  doubts  in  this  true 
light.  Faith  is  this  wisdom,  which  St.  Paul  calls  spiritual,  as  given 
by  the  spirit  of  revelation  in  the  knowledge  of  Christ.  It  testifies  of 
believers  that  they  are  happy ;  they  are  enriched  ;  it  asks  yet 
more  for  them  with  the  most  fervent  prayers.  The  proof  that  this 
intelligence  is  nothing  else  than  faith,  is,  that  Jesus  called  his  dis- 
ciples a  long  time  men  ivithout  knowledge,  and  these  ^vords  are 
equivalent  to  men  of  little  faith.  He  explains  this  thought  by  add- 
ing, "  Slow  of  heart  to  believe  all  that  the  prophets  have  said  " 
(Luke  xxiv.  25).  It  was  this,  consequently,  which  deprived  them 
of  a  higher  degree  of  knowledge,  of  discernment  concerning  the 
most  important,  simple,  and  obvious  truths.  The  absence  of  this 
principle  of  light  held  their  mhids  in  total  darkness,  as  we  speak 


CHRISTIAN    STUDIES.  167 

of  those  whom  Christ  has  not  eiihghtened  by  his  Sphit,  or  who 
have  turned  back  after  receiving  a  knowledge  of  the  trutli. 

Let  us  inquire  what  St.  Paul  means  when  he  speaks  of  the 
natural  man  (1  Cor.  ii.)  It  is  not  the  purely  natural  mau  of  which 
the  other  writers  of  the  Scriptures  si^es-k,  ahruti ;  it  is  the  man 
with  his  soul,  as  he  actually  exists,  avOpw-Koq  ipvxKog,  even  the  psy- 
chology of  the  sovil.  How  few  are  they  who  give  it  any  atten- 
tion !  And  yet  this  natural  man  comprehends  not  the  things  of 
the  Spirit  of  God,  because  they  are  spirilually  discerned,  ilvzvfia- 
riKCjg  (spiritually)  expresses  a  .species  of  spirituality  widely  differ- 
ent from  intelligence.  Speaking  according  to  the  Word  of  God, 
spiritual  cannot  mean  intellcctital.  One  may,  perhaps,  be  very  in- 
telligent, and  yet  have  only  a  carnal  understanding  with  regard  to 
divine  things.  Observe  the  particularity  with  which  St.  Paul 
distinguishes  the  precept  on  Avhich  this  discernment  rests.  "  Now 
we  have  received,  not  the  spirit  of  the  world,  but  the  Spiiit  which 
is  of  God,  that  we  might  know  the  things  that  are  freely  given  to 
us  of  God."  Let  us  mark  carefully  the  words,  when,  in  speaking 
of  the  same  things,  he  adds,  "  Which  things  also  we  speak,  not 
in  the  words  which  man's  wisdom  teacheth,  but  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  teacheth  ;  comparing  spiritual  things  with  spiritual."  Thus 
are  the  words  of  Christ  made  manifest,  "  his  words  are  spirit  and 
life,"  that  "  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed  these  things  ;"  that 
no  one  could  discern,  or  teach,  or  comprehend  them  by  his  own 
inteUigence  ;  and  thus  is  the  wisdom  of  God  folly  in  the  sight  of 
the  world,  and,  in  return,  the  wisdom  of  this  world  folly  before 
God. 

Having  named  the  doubt,  we  say  that  it  is  erroneous  and  fool- 
ish to  desire  this  unceasing  discussion,  without  holding  anything 
as  received  or  established,  as  if  every  man,  entering  into  eternal 
life,  must  tear  down  and  rebuild  the  edifice  Avhich  lias  furnished 
him  a  sanctuary  and  a  shelter.  He  might  as  well  call  in  question 
his  own  nature  or  the  existence  of  his  body  ; — too  happy  if,  like 
Descartes,  he  can  return  from  it  to  the  simplest  exercise  of 
thought.  God  protects  his  servants  from  this  foolish  distrust, 
which  is  only  a  confidence  in  the  works  of  their  own  hands.  If 
you  can  only  believe  in  the  God  you  have  made  for  yourselves — that 
you  have  consecrated, — which  shall  come  out  of  the  crucible  of 
your  own  weak  imagination,  if  you  cannot  certify,  publish,  or 
offer  anything  better  to  your  contemporaries,  you  do  not  give  them 
much  that  is  worthy  their  acceptance.  How  can  you  convict 
them  for  your  penury  .'  Proud  in  their  own  strength,  which 
after  all  is  only  a  created  power  that  destroys  more  than  it 
edifies,  the  men  of  our  day,  destitute  of  the  erudition  of  the  giants 
of  past  ages,  reject,  with  contempt,  the  traditions  which,  though 
perhaps  confused,  are  rich  from  centuries  which  are  no  more.  Un- 
grateful, they  misapprehend  their  benefits,  and  yet  make  no  pre- 
paration to  leave  to  succeeding  generations  the  treasures  they 
have  themselves  amassed. 

Truly  this  is  strange  folly  and  presumption  to  desire  to  i)rove 
all  things,  and  yetbeheve  nothing — accept  nothing  with  confidence. 


168 


CHRISTIAN    STUDIES. 


Try  not  to  prove  all  things,  you  who  desire  salvation !     Be  not 
so  foolish  as  to  make  everything  depend  on  your  proofs .' 

Acknowledge  intrinsic  excellence  without  these— independent 
and  irrespective  of  these  antique  verities  ;  and  do  not  offer  your 
proofs  in  comparison  with  the  testimony  of  reiterated  experience, 
— of  accumulated  evidence,  as  if  your  happiness  depended  on 
adding  yet  your  testimony.  Believe,  therefore,  and,  above  all 
things,  wear  the  air  of  belief,  that  Christianity  may  be  able  to  live 
and  extend  its  roots  ;  that  it  may  teach  you  it  has  need  of  nothing 
else  ;  that,  while  it  offers  you  a  refuge,  it  asks  nothing  for  itself  in 
return.  Conseqviently,  if  you  neglect  this  salvation,  you  shall  be 
the  first  punished,  the  first  to  complain,  and  all  that  you  have 
known,  or  desired,  or  deemed  advantageous,  you  shall  regard 
lost,  &c.  Therefore,  in  place  of  this  endless  disputation,  open, 
rehearse,  search,  repeat  divine  things  ;  but  the  echo — the  echo  of 
this  misapprehended  verity,  understand  it  for  yourselves — yea, 
search  to  the  very  foundation. 

Let  not  this  century,  already  so  vain  of  its  acquisitions,  behold 
you  in  pain,  in  labor — destitute  of  the  everlasting  gospel, — of  an 
eternal  Saviour.  Let  it  see  rather  that  you  desire  him  for  yourself, 
and  treat  it  as  a  criminal,  as  it  will  appear  in  the  presence  of  its 
judge,  according  to  the  words  of  our  Lord  :  "  Now  cometh  the  judg- 
ment of  this  u'orld,'''  and  with  it  that  of  reason  also. 

We  sympathize,  therefore,  Avith  the  great  apostle  who  had 
attained  the  highest  point  of  knowledge,  and  knew  well  how  to 
appreciate  himian  success.  "  We  preach  wisdom  not  of  this 
world,  nor  of  the  princes  of  this  world  that  come  to  naught — a 
wisdom  which  none  of  the  princes  of  this  world  knew, — a  wisdom 
among  them  that  are  perfect." 

Among  other  strange  mistakes  incident  to  human  reason  is  that 
of  taking  the  effect  for  the  cause  ;  and  vice  versa — many  who  would 
shrink  back  with  horror  from  speaking  of  the  grace  of  God,  the  will 
of  God,  and  His  sovereign  power  as  first  and  last  cause  of  all 
things,  speak  affectedly  of  nature,  and  personify  it  as  it  were,  a 
creator  rather  than  a  creature.  It  is  Nature  who  has  done  this, 
■who  has  done  that !  Because  God  moves  in  man,  and  by  the  ad- 
mirable efficiency  of  his  continued  power  ever  sustains  and  directs 
him,  they  have  come  at  length  to  think  it  is  man  who  acts  for 
himself,  and  who  finds  in  himself  his  origin  and  design.  The 
first  steps  of  salvation  are  revealed  to  him,  and  those  things  give 
him  all  the  merit  of  its  acquisition.  How  can  reason,  strict  and 
severe,  allow  itself  to  forget  the  only  hand  which  can  guide  un- 
failingly, the  only  piercing  eye  that  can  foresee  the  issue,  God  who 
worketk  in  us  to  ivi/l  mid  to  do  according  to  his  own  good  pleasure  ?  Ah  ! 
this  only  shows  too  plainly  that  it  has  lost,  even  by  the  manner  in 
which  it  addresses  itself  to  man,  the  means  it  uses  for  his  conver- 
tion.  Instead  of  preaching,  that  is,  of  publishing,  of  proclaim- 
ing that  it  is  God  who  gives  grace,  Avho  converts,  who  touches, 
who  strikes,  who  breaks,  who  subdues,  who  awakens,  who  ani- 
mates, who  changes,  in  short,  who  begins  and  ends  his  work,  also 
in  a  God  who  temporarily  enriches  and  impoverishes,  who  abases 


CHRISTIAN    STUDIES.  169 

who  exalts,  who  is  the  first  and  the  last;  it  reduces  to  amass  of 
ruins  the  honor  of  belief,  hoping  itself  to  rise  from  the  midst  of 
the  ruins,  and  elevate  itself  upon  them  even  to  the  highest  heaven. 
Because  there  is  necessarily  something  human,  terrestrial,  mate- 
rial in  the  Bible,  since  it  is  a  book)  and  has  a  natural  correspondent 
action),  they  forget,  they  lose  sight  of  its  only  object,  namely,  to 
bring  the  soul  in  contact  with  the  divine  nature,  only  influencing, 
only  powerful  in  itself;  that  the  grand  design  is  to  furnish  a  point 
of  meeting,  of  incidence,  which  once  found  regenerates  the  soul. 
(A  simple  analysis  of  the  Parable  of  the  Sower  will  enable  us  to 
comprehend  this  readily,  and  we  may  therefore  return  to  it )  The 
eyes,  the  hands,  and  the  feet,  are  all  necessary  to  the  body,  so, 
wit,  memory,  the  attention  which  compares,  the  judgment  which 
concludes,  are  necessary  to  the  perfection  of  the  mind.  But  after  all, 
what  has  it  for  its  final  end,  if  it  be  not  to  place  the  soul  in  com- 
munication with  this  livehj  or  living  word  which  regenerates,  which 
can  save  the  soul,  yet  which  can  do  it  alone  through  the  Eternal 
Spirit,  ever  the  same,  who  operates  on  the  minds  he  has  formed  ! 

Thus,  therefore,  speaking  simply,  giving  heed  and  examining 
the  Word,  without  desiring  to  find  one  meaning  rather  than  ano- 
ther, without  endeavoring  to  avoid  anything — without  adding  or 
subtracting  therefrom,  this  is  the  right,  sincere,  and  correct  de- 
sign of  reason,  equally  with  the  pastor  as  with  the  simple  believer, 
and  even  he  who  does  not  possess  this  humble,  docile  spirit 
(which  Paul  calls  the  same  spirit  of  faith),  as  well  as  the  first,  will 
be  governed  by  it.  For  this  spirit  is  not  natural  to  man ;  they  have 
it  not  who  make  the  greatest  pretensions ;  they  who  really  pos- 
sess the  largest  share  see  their  ignorance,  it  can  with  difficulty 
enter  a  2">roud  heart.  Christ  himself  is  the  Master  Sovereign, 
the  Shepherd  of  the  sheep,  and  manifests  his  willingness  to  impart 
this  spirit  to  those  who  desire  it.  "  Learn  of  me,  for  I  am  meek 
and  lowly  of  heart ;  according  as  it  is  written  of  me  in  the  vo- 
lume of  the  Word  ;  Lo  !  I  come  to  do  thy  will,  0  God  !" — It  is 
written .'  comprehend  it  well !  and  this  is  the  substantial  Word 
which  refers  to  the  Scriptures !  What  obedience  of  faith ! 
What  fidelity!  What  docility!  Eternal,  uncreated  reason,  the 
Logos,  who  has  only  to  s])eak  of  divine  things,  teach  us  therefore 
to  listen  meekly  while  it  is  said — Hear  ijc  Him. 

But  what  difference,  after  all,  is  there  between  our  exposition  of 
the  Scriptures,  and  that  of  those  who  explain  it  only  by  their  rea- 
son, since  we  both  agree  that  reason  is  only  the  medium  by  which 
we  see  the  light  placed  on  that  candlestick,  or  the  eye  by  which 
we  read  it  there  .' 

The  eye  sees  undoubtedly  in  the  Bible,  as  in  any  other  book, 
characters  traced,  and  from  them  forms  words  and  phrases,  and  as 
the  mind  apprehends  the  meaning  seizes  finished  or  isolated 
passages,  otherwise  limited  and  dependent  on  that  which  precedes 
or  follows.  This  is  the  nattiral  process,  and  the  same  for  all 
works.  But  how  different  the  result !  The  disciple  can  never  ex- 
ceed his  prescribed  bounds,  and  God  says  to  him  as  to  the  sea, 
"  Thus  far  shalt  tuou  go  and  no  further."  The  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath 
8 


170  CHRISTIAN    STUDIES. 

spoken,  Give  ear,  0  heavens,  and  keep  silence,  0  earth  ;  hearken, 
my  people,  and  I  will  speak.  We  have  heard  these  marvels  from 
our  fathers,  and  we  will  tell  them  to  our  children  and  to  our  chil- 
dren's children,  and  generations  yet  to  come  shall  praise  the  Lord. 
Let  us  not  shrink  back  because  they  are  mysteries.  This  is  the 
mystery  of  God  our  Father  and  of  Christ,  and  concerning  the 
things  of  Christ,  these  are  they  hidden  from  the  foundation  of  the 
World,  but  now  revealed  to  those  who  believe  :  for  "  eye  hath  not 
seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  hath  it  entered  into  the  heart  of  man 
to  conceive  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  those  that 
love  him."  "  The  secret  of  the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear  him  and 
He  will  show  them  his  covenant."  Let  us  look  at  it  in  this  light, 
at  all  times.  God  speaks  to  man  generally  and  to  the  individual 
sold  particularly,  to  give  it  to  knoiv  his  designs  and  the  riches  of  his 
grace.  It  concerns  us,  therefore,  0  man  !  to  read,  to  listen,  to  re- 
ceive it ! 

And  what  can  be  more  reasonably  simple  than  to  enter  and  take 
a  seat,  if  you  please,  in  the  school  of  one  Tyrannus  (Acts  xix.), 
where  Paul  disputes  Avith  his  disciples.  What  can  be  better  added 
to  your  faith,  to  make  it  reasonable,  or  even  to  transform 
your  reason  into  faith,  than  this  sure  foundation,  not  on  the  un- 
certain, variable  knowledge  of  man,  but  on  the  power  of  God — 
than  to  rest  on  the  foundation  of  the  Apo.stles  and  Prophets, 
Jesus  Christ  being  the  head  stone  of  the  corner  '  This  is  spoken 
concerning  the  word:  but  this  word  alway  remains;  for  it  is 
written:  "  Whatsoever  things  were  written  aforetime,  were  written 
for  our  learning"  (Rom.  xv.41 — 1  Cor.  x.  ii.).  While  we  read,  there- 
fore, and  admit  all  that  we  find  in  agreement  with  the  analogy  of 
faith,  of  an  unchangeable  faith,  a  faith  more  open,  which  existed 
before  it  was  thus  called,  our  belief  is  confirmed  by  the  testimony 
of  a  great  cloud  of  witnesses — all  receiving  the  Bible  with  equal 
respect,  and  comprehending  it  under  the  bright  manifestation  of 
prayer.  We  certainly,  therefore,  are  not  degraded  in  receiving 
truth,  like  these  worthy  fathers,  since  we  are  all  baptized  under 
the  same  cloud,  and  receive  of  the  same  Spirit. 

No  ;  the  Gospel  has  nothing  stable,  nothing  veritable,  or  else  it 
is  really  a  charge — a  good  trust.  "  0,  Timothy,  keep  that  which 
is  committed  to  thy  charge  !  Hold  fast  the  form  of  sound  words." 
Whosoever  does  not  thus  fear  the  obligation  to  teach  in  one 
only  irreproachable  way,  is  declared  even  by  this  Word,  who  is 
the  sovereign  Judge  of  his  servants,  to  have  an  endless  contro- 
versy of  words,  to  have  rejected  the  faith,  and  to  be  reproved  by 
this  knowledge.  He  vainly  boasts  his  reason,  who  has  never  yet 
offered  this  reasonable  service  (ri]v  hjx'Kin'  Xarpdav)  which  the  Apostle 
says  is  due  to  his  God,  when  he  beseeches  the  Romans  to  offer  their 
spirits  and  their  bodies  for  a  living  sacrifice. 


We  come  now  to  the  weighty  matter  of  authority.  Many  de- 
claim loudly  against  all  authority;  but  does  that  detract  from  its 
value,  or  prove  it  useless  .'  I  think  not.  There  certainly  is  some 
authority. 


CHRISTIAN    STUDIES.  171 

The  analogy  of  faith  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  authority — 
the  consideration  of  that  which  has  always  been  true,  that  has 
always  been  received  as  such,  the  authority  that  the  Bible  has 
published,  spread  and  rendered  common  among  all  Christians, 
whicii  the  Gospel  has  taught  and  presented  to  the  Church  uni- 
versal, for  the  approbation  of  the  universal  Church.  But  who 
speaks  of  approbation,  who  of  confession  ? 

A  Christian  who  would  be  alone  in  the  world  in  his  particular 
belief,  would  indeed  have  good  reason  to  judge  himself  and  to 
count  himself  rashly  proud  of  his  own  understanding.  This 
would  truly  be  an  isolated  sense  that  he  possessed,  not  common 
sense  in  the  Christian  Church.  What  we  call  common  sense  in 
earthly  matters,  in  matters  of  faith  is  only  an  individual  and  par- 
ticular interpretation.  Here  the  customary  expressions  are  nei- 
ther corres])ondent  nor  synonymous.  Christianity  is  not  an  isolat- 
ed system ;  it  is,  on  the  contrary,  one  of  reconciliation — it  is  a 
social  system;  the  Christian  is  not  a  monad,  but  a  part  of  the 
great  whole  which  diffuses  life  and  improvement  among  all  the 
members.  He  is  not  merely  one  who  believes,  but  one  of  the 
great  number  of  believers. 

When  one  is  seeking  salvation,  at  the  commencement  of  the 
spiritual  life,  he  should  undoubtedly  act  and  feel  as  if  he  were 
alone  in  the  world.  His  relations  with  God  are  the  same  as  if 
God  had  done  all  that  he  has  done,  and  said  all  that  he  has  said, 
only  for  him.  Thus  the  Eternal  Word  causes  the  soul  to  feel  its 
burden,  and  produces  its  effect;  but  when  it  concerns  the  piety  of 
the  individual,  his  perfection  in  faith,  then  has  it  reference  to  the 
whole,  for  this  is  their  common  fnith,  [hnt'whick  has  been  given  to  the 
saints,  which  unites,  renders  them  members  one  of  another. 

There  is  an  agreement  in  this  faith  which  furnishes  the  be- 
liever a  guiding  thread — and  he  cannot  take  one  step  without 
holding  it.  There  is  a  common  understanding  in  the  Church,  or 
an  unanimous  consent  which  rules,  concerning  the  particular 
.sense ;  and  that  is  the  unity  of  the  spirit ;  this  is  also  a  true 
authority. 

The  faith  of  every  true  Christian  should  correspond  with  that 
of  all  others,  and  this  agreement  is  the  analogy  of  faith. 

Such  an  authority  is  not  a  yoke  ;  it  is  a  guaranty.  Without  it, 
one  sails  at  random  on  the  ocean  of  the  Bible,  as  without  a  com- 
pass on  that  of  this  world.  Were  it  possible  to  bring  together  the 
whole  universal  church  to  hear  this,  what  it  would  declare  to  be 
true  would  undoubtedly  be  the  truth,  and  thus  it  would  unavoid- 
ably be  brought  under  submission.  Now  in  history  we  see  the 
Church,  as  it  appears  to  be  that  of  all  times  and  in  all  places. 
Here  it  is  we  hud  the  summation  of  centuries.  Those  wlio  were 
under  its  jurisdiction  have  mianimously  acknowledged  this  is  not 
a  false  agreement,  but  gives  the  weight  of  authority.  This  is 
what  we  can  and  must  respect.  This  is  no  longer  acting  the 
severe  theologian,  but  submitting  to  gross  misconception. 

We  should  not  submit  blindly  to  the  opinion  of  men,  it  is  true, 
because  the  Bible  says,  tntlij  evenj  man  is  a  liar,  from  which  we 
may  infer  that  all  men  are  liars,  as  Paul  quotes  from  the  poet. 


172  CHRISTIAN    STUDIES. 

that  all  the  Cretans  are  liars — but  all  Christians  are  not  liars; 
for,  1st,  Faith  is  not  a  hnmau  opinion  ;  it  has  been  given  once  to 
the  saints  :  and  2dly,  the  Spirit  of  truth  is  with  the  Church,  and 
not  only  the  Spirit,  the  mind  of  Christ  (1  Cor.  ii.  6),  but  also  the 
expression  of  this  mind  on  the  Word  of  truth,  and  not  only  the 
written  Word,  but  a  constant  living  Word.  Our  Confessions 
rightly  say,  the  preaching  of  the  Word  of  God  is  the  Word  of 
God.  It  carries  not  only  in  itself,  but  tvith  itself,  its  own  w^ork  and 
the  declaration  of  its  unchangeable  .stability. 

What  has  always  proved  true  for  Christians,  is  given  for  truth. 
Denial  is  heresy.  We  do  not  teach  according  to  our  own  under- 
standing of  God,  manifested  in  the  Gospel.  We  speak  as  we 
have  heard  (for  faith  cometh  by  hearing).  We  give  as  we  have 
received  (tradere).  I  give  you  that  which  1  also  have  received,  says 
the  Apostle.  Who  shall  be  angry  at  such  a  tradition,  and  deny 
it  a  just  title  ? 

Thus  we  see  orthodoxy  exalted  throughout  all  time  by  the 
voice  of  centuries,  and  reigning  triumphant  above  all  the  contests 
which  have  divided  the  churches  of  the  East  and  the  West,  the 
churches  of  Asia,  Africa,  and  Europe,  and  even  of  the  Reformed 
Church,  and  the  sects  which  have  been  springing  up  around  it. 
That  which  has  been,  is  yet,  and  will  be  true  above  all  others : 
orthodoxy  has  become  a  fact.  Yet  can  one  hope  to  possess  this 
truth  if  he  keeps  himself  beyond  its  reach  ? 

Wherefore  seek  to  make  this  authority  obnoxious  .'  What  does 
it  contain  so  repugnant  to  the  nature  of  man  .'  Do  we  not  see 
these  very  individuals  who  become  so  passionate  at  the  mere 
mention  of  the  word  duthority,  exercising  it  each  in  his  own 
sphere,  as  pastors,  as  fathers,  in  the  circle  of  their  families,  or  of 
their  external  influence,  the  authority  of  age,  even  of  that  forbid- 
ding physiognomy,  of  gesture  and  appearance  ;  speaking,  for  cx- 
amjale,  of  the  importance  of  religious  education,  they  say,  "  These 
first  impressions  are  never  effaced,  &c."  And  wherefore,  if  it  is 
not  that  children,  scholars,  inferiors,  receive  with  confidence  and 
deference  these  opinions  given  with  an  air  and  show  of  author- 
ity ?  What  inconsistency  in  ihose  who  cry  up  the  use  of  reason, 
in  matters  of  faith,  in  the  sense  of  absolute  independence  !  To 
reconcile  all  things  by  the  opinion  of  the  day,  to  avoid  walking 
by  a  simple  rule.  This  changing  opinion,  which  appears  to 
them  a  formidable  power,  has  become  a  very  different  thing  from 
simple  authority  (2  Peter  ii.  19). 

CONSCIENCE. 

There  is  not  a  more  imj^orlant  element  among  all  those,  which 
will  increase  the  zeal  of  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  than  con- 
science ;  but  there  is  also  no  element  which  deserves  to  be  better 
known.  Shall  we  content  ourselves,  then,  Avith  common  ideas 
with  regard  to  it.'     It  is  worth  the  trouble  of  an  examination. 

There  is  necessarily  something  vague  and  ill-defined  in  the 
common  acceptation  of  the  word.  It  is  in  effect  often  mistaken 
for  the  point  of  a  sentiment  which  it  resembles,  and  often  these 
metaphors  are  used  in  describing  it.     "Conscience  !  conscience  !" 


CHRISTIAN    STUDIES.  173 

cries  John  and  James,  "  immortal  and  celestial  voice!"  Again, 
with  others  it  is  by  moral  axioms,  fixed  principles,  and  uncreated 
laws,  that  they  speak  of  it;  it  is  an  engraved  table,  say  they, 
like  that  of  Sinai.  As  a  mute  and  defined,  yet  constant  witness, 
they  call  upon  it  immediately,  consult  it  at  all  times,  question 
and  make  it  speak  like  a  living  witness,  which  cannot  remain 
unmoved ;  they  call  to  it,  trouble  it,  excite  and  endeavor  to  re- 
move it.  Is  it,  therefore,  of  no  consequence  to  discover,  or  at 
least  to  become  acquainted  with  this  strange  character,  this 
mysterious  agent .'  And  if  it  be  a  power  in  man,  should  it  not, 
at  least,  have  a  Christian  }iame .' 

The  commonly  received  ideas  of  conscience,  which  obtain  in 
life,  and  in  ordinary  conversation,  are  really  imiu.st,  and  very 
incomplete,  from  which  results  a  very  imperfect  development 
of  the  moral  sense,  that  fails  to  lead  man  to  his  highest  perfection. 
They  speak  of  conscience  merely  as  we  have  noticed  them  speak- 
ing of  reason  ;  yet  it  seems  that  it  should  be  something  by  itself — 
a  guide,  a  master,  &c.  We  have  seen  formerly  that  the  eye  is 
not  the  light,  but  the  organ  through  which  light  is  seen ;  and, 
again,  that  the  eye  must  be  sound,  and  the  light  reach  it,  be  ad- 
mitted and  not  decomposed,  in  order  to  obtain  and  form  just  ideas 
of  things.  We  here  repeat  it,  and  liken  conscience  to  another 
of  our  senses.  Not  now  the  sight,  but  hearing  which  shall  serve 
as  a  common  point.  There  is  a  singular  agreement  between  the 
precision  of  the  first  and  the  confusion  of  the  second  of  these 
senses  (considered  psychologically),  at  the  same  time  a  delicacy, 
a  sensibility,  which  distinguishes  the  hearing,  by  which  it  attains 
a  relative  perfection,  while  the  sight  is  incapable  of  this  same 
perfectibility, — yet  its  exactness  and  force  confine  it  to  a  fixed 
point.  There  is,  I  say,  a  remarkable  analogy  between  the  two 
senses  we  have  just  observed,  and  reason,  as  compared  with 
conscience. 

Instead  of  speaking  of  conscience  as  a  voice,  it  will  be  better 
to  regard  it  as  the  organ  by  which  this  voice  is  recognized,  which 
collects  the  sound,  gives  new  shades  to  famUiar  perceptions — in 
fine,  that  a  delicate  conscience,  like  fine  hearing,  or  a  practised 
ear,  will  be  the  most  exquisite  organ,  while  a  penetrating  reason, 
like  long,  far-reaching  sight,  is,  in  other  respects,  the  strongest  of 
our  faculties. 

Conscience  is  less  the  voice,  thougli  it  has  long  been  represented 
thus,  than  the  localitij  where  it  dwells,  and  where  we  must  hear 
it.  It  is  less  the  oracle  itself,  than  the  sanctuary  Avhere  it  speaks 
and  gives  its  responses  :  but  language  confounds,  by  vague  ex- 
pressions, the  Deity  who  inspires  the  tem])le  where  he  resides, 
and  the  medium,  the  instrument,  by  Avhich  he  communicates  a 
knowledge  of  himself  And  here  we  find  the  difhculty  in  what 
has  already  been  said  of  conscience.  For,  in  fine,  we  attribute 
it  to  God,  when  we  say  it  is  God  whispering  to  man  the  claims 
of  judgment,  when  we  say  it  is  a  tribunal  established  in  nuin,  or 
a  judge,  a  guardian,  a  witness  who  Avatches  his  actions,  an  an- 
ticipated judgment,  a  present  and  lasting  judgment,  a  prelude  of 


174  CHRISTIAN    STUDIES, 

the  final ;  all  these  images  revolving  around  the  principal  idea, 
render  it  obscure  and  indistinct. 

This  leads  us  into  contradictions,  and  difficulties,  deeper  than 
those  from  Avhich  we  "would  extricate  ourselves,  and  makes  us 
in  practice  feel  sensibly  the  description  of  St.  Paul  (Rom.  ii.  14), 
that  at  lea.st  on  one  head,  conscience  has  something  natural,  com- 
mon to  all  men — even  to  the  savage.  At  length  we  come  to  the 
inquiry,  what  is  this  conscience  of  the  righteous  and  the  Chris- 
tian ("  void  of  reproach  before  God  and  man"),  since  the  idea 
of  conscience  is  only  an  idea  of  reproach,  of  profound  guilt, 
which  becomes  more  lively  and  intense,  in  proportion  as  it  is 
enlightened  and  cultivated.* 

For  he  who  examines,  who  listens,  who  cleanses  slightly  his 
conscience,  will  have  the  fewest  reproaches — while  he,  on  the 
contrary,  who  watches  more  carefully,  will  become  most  suscep- 
tible to  uneasine.ss  and  anxiety  on  this  account.  How  pretend  tO 
have  a  conscience  without  reproach  before  God  ?  Since  that 
which  escapes  man,  magnifies  itself  in  the  light  of  his  countenance 
(Psalm  xc.) ;  and  before  men  who  never  can  read  the  conscience 
accurately,  and  should  therefore  abstain  from  it,  what  are  we  to 
understand  by  a  conscience  void  of  reproach,  since  no  one  has  a 
right  to  force  it  to  reveal  that  which  is  hid,  and  no  one  knows  to 
draw  the  soul  from  its  depths  .'  The  feeling  that  every  one  has,  with 
regard  to  this,  is,  that  he  would  not  for  all  the  world  have  his  inner- 
most thoughts  brought  to  light  or  exposed  to  the  judgment  of  the  best 
disposed  assembly  or  the  most  indulgent  ear.  I  call  every  one  here 
to  witness'!  One  feels,  after  all  that  has  been  said,  the  necessity  of 
a  more  logical,  and  at  the  same  time  a  more  scriptural  exposition. 
We  have  already  given  the  principle  in  our  definition.  We  know 
assuredly  that  it  is  rather  the  ear  of  the  soul  to  hear,  than  the  sound 
and  the  voice  even  ;  it  is  the  most  retired,  the  most  secret,  the  most 
interior  locality  ;  as  in  the  physical  ear  there  are  some  chambers 
more  interior  than  others.  We  say  simply  that  God  speaks  in 
man.     Man  speaks  from  without,  but  God  speaks  from  within. 

*  At  least  man,  in  his  natural  state,  can  have  no  other ;  and  it  is 
of  this  we  now  wish  to  speak.  Take  for  example,  modesty:  why  should 
modesty  blush?  Does  not  the  word  even  (pudor)  express  shame?  Is  it 
not  a  sudden  revelation,  a  subtle  accusation,  of  a  secret  sympalhy,  an 
unknown  correspondence  with  something  hidden  and  impure  within,  of 
which  one  hardly  believes  himself  capable  ?  Can  an  angel  feel  it  ?  No. 
Modesty  shows  that  all  evil  is  not  from  without,  as  would  have  been  the 
case  with  simple,  perfect  innocence.  Conscience  gives  the  knowledge  of 
sin,  in  whose  presence  evil  should  be  held  in  check,  yet  which,  turned  aside 
from  its  original  rectitude,  cannot  always  tell  when  the  Evil  One  approaches. 
"  He  comes,  but  has  nothing  in  me-" — (John  xiv.  30.)  It  is  true,  say  some, 
conscience  approves  us  when  we  do  well ;  but,  certainly,  that  is  doubtful. 
How  can  it  prompt  one  to  a  secret  approbation,  when  everything  in  its 
nature  shows  us  the  danger  of  indulging  any  feeling  of  complacency  toward 
ourselves  ?  And,  after  all,  which  is  the  most  frequent,  the  most  conscien- 
tious of  the  two — that  which  approves,  or  that  which  reproaches?  Cer- 
tainly the  sphere  of  conscience  is  to  reproach,  and  if  it  performs  its  duty, 
this  is  its  most  natural  and  most  common  office. 


CHRISTIAN    STUDIES.  175 

(See  Imitat.  of  J.  C.)  God  speaks  to  the  heart,  say  tlie  prophets,  or 
rather,  according  to  the  original,  in  the  heart,  where  it  awakens  a 
mighty  echo. 

Having  placed  this  principle  in  advance,  let  us  endeavor  to  give 
a  scriptural  and  logical  exposition  of  the  nature  of  conscience, 
and  then  follow  it  out  in  its  various  steps. 

1st.  As  in  the  faculty  of  vision,  it  is  said  that  the  light  lightens 
all  men  coming  into  the  icorld,  a.ud  kindles  in  him  the  flame  of  intel- 
ligence, lays  down  the  rules  of  these  principles,  founds  the  axioms, 
adjusts  the  measure  of  truth,  so  the  natural  oracle  the  conscience, 
speaks  in  the  Jieathen  himself,  in  the  natural  man,  unconverted, 
causes  him  to  hear  a  voice  of  reproach,  enough,  at  least,  not  to  leave 
himself  ivithout  a  ivitness,  although  the  natural  man  gives  little  at- 
tention to  this  first  degree  of  instruction,  of  divine  warning  which 
he  hardly  regards.     But  let  us  proceed — 

If  man  becomes,  by  the  gift  of  a  positive  revelation,  a  worshipper 
in  spirit  and  in  truth,  he  will  enter  most  willingly  and  most  joyfully 
into  the  mysterious  place  where  this  oracle  resides,  he  will  listen 
to  it  silently,  he  will  tremble  at  its  voice,  and  he  will  say  before 
it  as  young  Samuel  was  instructed  by  the  High  Priest — Speak,  Lord, 
thy  servant  heareth. — (I.Sam,  iii.  7,  9,  10.    Heb.  ii.  1.,  iii.  7,  15.) 

2d.  Then  the  oracle  itself  will  become  new  (for  all  is  new,  under 
a  new  dispensation).  "  I  will  hear  what  He  will  say  to  those  who 
love  Him,"  says  the  Psalmist.  "  The  merciful  God  will  speak 
peace  to  them."  This  will  be  a  voice  of  mercy  and  of  pardon,  in- 
stead of  a  voice  of  reproach,  continual  and  pitiless.  And  St.  Paul 
says  three  times  in  succession,  that  it  is  the  Spirit  which  says  — 
"  To-day  if  ye  will  hear  his  voice,  harden  not  your  hearts."  That 
this  conscience  is  not  natural,  you  can  say  nothing  less.  And  this 
only  can  explain  the  gospel  expression,  conscience  of  sin,  opposed 
to  a  good  conscience,  or  conscience  without  reproach,  that  is,  a  satisfied 
conscience,  renewed  by  God  himself,  or  a  sentiment  acquired  by 
a  reconciliation.  The  Apostle  does  not  say  that  he  himself  at- 
tempts to  accomplish  it,  but  to  preserve  and  guard  it  when  it  has 
once  been  given  him.  St.  Peter  speaks  concerning  baptism  as  an 
answer  before  God.  It  is  the  testimony  of  faith,  which  is  double, 
"  when  the  Spirit  witnesses  with  our  spirit,  that  we  are  the  chil- 
dren of  God."  We  also  render  this  testimony  (John  xv.  27.),  "  I 
know  in  whom  I  have  believed,  in  the  Lamb  of  God  who  taketh 
away  the  sins  of  the  world,"  and  wlio  has  power  to  justify  those 
who  receive  it.  St.  Peter  makes  this  a  consequence  of  the  resur- 
rection of  Jesus  Christ  (I  Peter  iii.  21),  for,  having  died  for  our 
offences,  he  is  raised  again  for  our  justification.  It  is,  in  short,  con 
science  pur  if  cd  from  dead  works  (Heb.  ix.  14),  the  conscience  of  justi- 
fication. 

3d.  There  is  yet  a  moire  perfect  conscience,  or  rather  a  third 
degree,  relating  to  sanctification,  upon  which  we  must  enter  by 
a  new  way.  Tiiere  is  a  Councillor,  as  well  as  a  judge,  as  well  as 
a  Saviour  of  .souls.  "  Thou  shalt  hear,"  says  the  prophet  Isaiah, 
"the  voice  of  one  behind  thee,  saying,  this  is  the  way,  walk  ye 
in  it."     This  Councillor  is  h(^  "-^om  the  Gospel,  whom  Jesus  Christ 


176  CHRISTIAN    STUDIES. 

calls  by  the  beautiful  name  of  Comforter,  and  to  whom  he  deliv- 
ers, commits  and  ever  assigns  the  keeping  of  the  saved  soul, 
after  having  by  the  former  act  recovered  it  from  sin,  liberated  it 
by  grace,  and  delivered  it  by  a  full  remission  from  the  burden  of 
sin.  This  also  explains  the  expression  of  St.  Paul  in  Romans 
(Rom.  ix.  1).  "My  conscience  also  bearing  me  witness  in  the 
Holy  Ghost."  Here  you  see  necessarily  a  privileged  conscience, 
more,  much  more,  than  the  obscure  conscience  of  the  heathen; 
more  also  than  the  enlightened  conscience  of  a  civilized  man — 
more  than  one  enlarged  by  education  and  the  light  of  the  age. 
Moreover,  the  doctrine  of  adoption  not  only  establishes  and  affirms 
that  the  Spirit  of  God  witnesses  with  our  spirits,  that  we  are  the 
children  of  God  ;  but  also  that  this  spirit  leads  the  children  of  God, 
and  that  "  those  who  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God  are  the  children 
of  God."  From  that  time,  a  Christian  conscience  receives  not 
merely  this  first,  and  I  may  affirm  greater  witness  of  just  or  unjust 
actions,  honest  or  dishonest,  as  we  may  say  of  all  things,  but  it 
adds  a  yet  finer  tact,  a  new  sense,  a  superior  discernment  almost 
heavenly,  which  St.  Paul  characterizes  as  very  glorious,  when  he 
says,  "  the  spiritual  man  judges  all  things,  yet  is  himself  judged  by 
no  man."  For  who  has  a  right  in  this  world,  to  judge  the  con- 
sciences of  those  who  are  justified,  since  one  is  even  forbidden  to 
judge  of  the  carnal  conscience  .'  The  spiritual  man  is  drawn  by 
strange  impulses  to  the  will  of  the  flesh,  which  is  not  subject  to 
the  Law  of  God,  neither  indeed  can  be.  His  aspirations  soar 
higher,  and  his  motives  are  not  only  purer  and  more  elevated,  but 
the  movement  which  follows  them,  the  active  thought,  the  move- 
ment of  the  Spirit,  is  quite  a  different  thing  from  that  natural  activ- 
ity by  which  the  human  will  is  determined  in  the  enterprises  of 
this  world.     Who  shall  be  able  to  judge  of  this  life  and  principle  ? 

4th.  There  are  therefore  two  consciences.  I  see  first  a  con- 
science of  sin,  then  a  conscience  without  reproach,  that  is,  a  con- 
science justified  ;  and  then  follows  conscience,  a  councillor  or 
guide.  Finally,  a  good  conscience,  or  witnessing  by  the  Spirit, 
and  "  obeying  the  truth  through  the  Spirit,  with  a  true  heart,  with- 
out hypocrisy,  keeping  the  mystery  of  faith  in  a  pure  conscience," 
such  as  the  heirs  of  the  kingdom  God  ought  to  possess ;  and  as 
the  Apostle  dares  to  affirm  of  himself — "  We  trust  we  have  a  good 
conscience,  in  all  things  willing  to  live  honestly."  (Heb.  xiii.  18.) 
Finally,  we  may  truly  say,  there  is  a  good  conscience,  or  a  con- 
science planning  rightly. 

This  regards  equally  the  past,  present,  and  future ;  and  supposes 
already  a  certain  degree  of  spiritual  force,  acquired,  and  rooted 
in  the  sttbject  of  grace.  This  is  the  established  resolution  of  good, 
of  holy  resolution,  and  the  solid,  vigorous  root  of  anew  and  pow- 
erful will,  hi  vain  does  the  sinner  form  plans  of  conversion  and 
of  a  better  life,  while  his  will  is  yet  ungrafted,  like  a  good  graft 
on  a  living  tree,  and  while  there  stands  against  him  a  permanent 
accusation,  which  deprives  him  of  strength  and  all  true  courage, 
and  which  also  reduces  him  in  spite  of" himself  to  remember  the 
depths  of  iniquity  which  yet  remain  uncleansed — unremoved. 


CHRISTIAN    STUDIES.  177 

That  conscience  is  the  master-piece  of  grace,  and  constitutes 
the  true  renewal  of  the  divine  image  in  justice,  and  in  true  hoU- 
ness.  The  foundation  is  Avanting  in  the  sinner,  even  in  his  best 
moments  he  has  not  even  a  velleity  for  good — he  is  ahogether 
corrupt,  from  the  head  even  to  the  feet.  For  though  he  may  have 
something  which  men  cah  sincerity,  and  wliich  resembles  it  some- 
what ;  this  sincerity,  which  does  not  justify  by  itself,  is  then  really 
the  commencement  of  the  kingdom  of  God — the  invisible  Empire, 
extending  itself  over  the  soul  of  the  converted  man;  and  when  one 
can  say  he  really  belongs  to  God,  from  that  moment  integrity  sub- 
sists before  him  and  all  his  promises  are  realized. 

This  con.scienee  corresponds  with  the  simple  eye.  To  a  simple 
view  of  the  only  path  of  duty,  the  only  right  line,  is  joined  an  in- 
tention or  simple  wish  to  walk  in  it.  Its  root  is  like  an  undivided 
thread  ;  and  now  there  is  no  more  of  this  division  of  the  heart,  so 
subtle,  so  condemned  in  the  Word.  "  The  man  whose  heart  is 
divided,  or  double-hearted,  double-minded"  (James  i.),  "You 
who  are  double-minded  " — by  which  he  does  not  mean  here  gross 
hypocrisy, — but  division  between  its  own  desires,  secret  and  al- 
most imperceptible,  which  yet  remains  with  those  who  wish  to 
be  free,  yet  by  this  course  dissipate  all  their  strength,  and  paralyze 
their  efforts,  by  their  own  carelessness  pr  mistakes,  and  thus  make 
life  a  perpetual  inconsistency  ; 

"O  God,  whaj .cruel  strife  i 
I  find  two  wills  within  me,"  &c. 

instead  of  all  this,  a  condition  truly  miserable  and  worthy  of  pity 
— a  movement,  a  momentary  impulse  (as  there  is  one  only  faith 
.and  one  only  grace),  to  combat  or  to  fly  temptation,  not  only 
without  an  agreement  with  it,  but  without  stopping  even  to  con- 
sider the  doubt ;  yes,  without  a  particle  of  time  for  hesitation. 
It  is  God  in  the  soul,  with  all  that  is  jealous  and  absolute  in  his 
jove,  according  to  the  summary  of  the  law ;  it  is  faith  ojieratrng 
by  charity  ;  it  is  the  liidden  mystery,  to  know  "  Christ  in  us,  the 
hope  of  glory." 

There  is,  therefore,  something  more  than  this  good  and  honest 
heart  necessary  to  receive  the  seed  of  God  at  the  very  commence- 
ment of  the  work  of  God.  It  is  the  crown  of  the  Jiew  man — it  is 
his  integriii/ — it  is  the  fulfilment  of  the  wish  of  Paul,  "  That  all 
THAT  IS  WITHIN  YOU,  Spirit,  soid,  and  body,  may  be  preserved  blame- 
less ;"  —  it  is  the  fulness  of  praises  of  which  David  speaks  in 
Psalm  ciii. :  '^Let  all  that  is  within  me  bless  the  name  of  thy  ho- 
liness !" 

This,  then,  is  the  end  of  this  unhappy  division  of  the  powers 
that  God  has  created  to  desire  good;  and  not  only  to  desire  it,  but 
to  do  it ;  and  of  which  Paul  laments  in  the  close  of  the  seventh  chap- 
ter of  Romans,  saying  that  he  had  a  will  to  do  well,  but  could  not 
find  the  means  of  accomplishing  it !  This  good  conscience  gives 
the  true  conductor,  which  shall  ascend  to  the  hill  of  the  Lord, 
and  attain  otherwise  inaccessible  heights. 

Now  is  mercy  complete ;  it  is  not  received  in'  vain ;  all  is  ac- 
9* 


178  CHRISTIAN    STUDIES. 

complished ;  for  God  is  obeyed.  What  though  the  external  effect 
be  not  yet  perfect,  the  will  at  least,  the  internal  disposition  to  pro- 
duce it,  is  entire,  and  avows  itself  boldly  ;  not  fearing  to  be  proud 
to  say  to  the  Lord,  "  Try  me,"  and  is  willing  to  be  submitted  to  the 
fire  which  tries  all  things,  inasmuch  as  he  can  endure  the  flames, 
who  can  look  it  steadily  in  the  face,  like  the  eagle,  who,  in  its  up- 
ward flight,  fixes  its  steady  gaze  on  the  sun,  through  the  power 
given  him  by  its  almighty  Creator. 

For  holiness  is  equally  essential  to  the  children  of  God  as  to  his 
angels :  the  sinner  will  therefore  first  speak  of  his  goodness,  af 
his  love,  of  his  mercy,  in  approaching  the  Lord,  in  tasting  that 
He  is  sweet.  But  holiness — oh  that  he  knew  it,  and  desired  to 
walk  in  it ! 

SOME   OF   THE   PILLARS   OF   THE   TEMPLE   OF   THE   LORD. 

The  glory  of  the  workman  shines  forth  in  his  works.  The 
genius  of  the  artist  appears  in  the  characters  that  he  knows  how 
to  sketch,  to  ornament,  and  sustain,  than  which,  perhaps,  no- 
thing could  be  more  perfect,  because  he  has  placed  there  some- 
thing of  his  own  spirit.  You  admire  it  as,  a  choice  specimen  of 
human  workmanship.  The  spirit  of  poetry  charms  you,  and  you 
have  felt  its  power.  Confess,  then,  candidly,  have  you  never  re- 
marked some  of  those  silent  beauties  with  which  the  Book  of 
God  is  ever  clothed  .'  It  is,  perhaps,  one  of  the  most  singularly 
gi"aiid  and  original  characteristics  of  the  Bible,  that  those  men, 
whom  it  does  not  call  great  men,  who  bear  no  resemblance  to 
our  heroes,  it  describes  in  passing,  as  if  Avithout  design,  with  a 
kind  of  generous  forgetfulness  and  divine  negligence, yet  imparting 
to  them  a  glory  which  exceeds  all  who  name  themselves,  in 
sketching  some  of  their  marked  characteristics.  It  exceeds  all 
that  has  ever  been  told  by  any  other  historian,  or  traced  by  any 
other  limner.  It  exceeds,  as  one  remarks,  those  sculptured  by 
Plutarch.  Human  statuary !  Stop  and  admire  !  Man  of  God, 
take  thy  pencil ;  thou  hast  only  to  copy,  to  repeat  the  image. 
Open  thy  repository ;  it  is  rich,  it  is  vast,  and  in  the  first  leaves 
equally  with  the  last,  shalt  thou  see  beings  passing  from  this 
world  to  that  which  is  to  come.  Enoch,  "the  seventh  man," 
foretold  the  coming  of  the  great  King,  and  from  the  beginning: 
looked  even  to  the  end  of  the  world  to  behold  him,  saying,  "  Be- 
hold, the  Lord  cometh  with  ten  thousand  of  his  saints,  to  execute 
judgment  upon  the  earth"  (Jude  xiv.  15);  and  the  man  who, 
many  centuries  later,  composed  "  the  pleasant  songs  of  Israel," 
cries  out,  "  The  chariots  of  God  are  twenty  thousand,  even  thou- 
sands of  angels :  the  Lord  is  among  them,  as  in  Sinai,  as  in  the' 
holy  place"  (Ps.  Ixviii.  17).  Let  us  go  on  a  little  farther;  yield 
an  attentive  ear,  and  listen  to  the  funeral  oration  of  a  great  peo- 
ple, who  wept  for  him  thirty  days.  His  body  cannot  be  found ; 
God  has  hid  it  from  them,  lest  it  should  become  an  object  of  wor- 
ship. Upon  none  other  of  the  sons  of  men  has  there  been  such 
an  eulogy  pronounced  :  "  And  there  arose  not  a  prophet  since  in 
Israel  like  unto  Moses,  whom  the  Lord  knew  face  to  fa-ce  "  (Deut, 


CHRISTIAN    STUDIES,  179 

xxxiv.  10),  whose  vigor  was  not  abated  (at  a  himdred  and  twenty- 
years  of  age),  and  whose  eye  was  not  dim.     He  was  truly  one 
whom  we  may  call  an  oak  of  justices  a  plant  of  the  Lord,  to 
glorify   him !       Abmliam   had    also  seen   his   day,  and   had   re- 
joiced  in    it :    Abraham,   father  of    nations,  lord    of    the   cove- 
nants, patriarch  of  the  promises,  representative  of  the  true  faith, 
he  whom  God  called  his  friend,  and  from  whom  he  did  not  conceal 
his  plans.     "  Shall  I  hide  from  Abraham  that  thing  which  I  do  .'" 
But  wherefore  follo\v  the  succession  of  time,  when  He  who  has 
made  it  oliserves  not  its  order  .'     See  you  not  that  he  annihilates 
all  time  to  re-unite,  to  group  these  subjects  of  His  royal  kingdom  .' 
Though  Noah,  Daniel  and  Job  were  in  it,  they  should  deliver  but 
their  own  souls  by  their  righteousness.     Seek  the  Lord,  "  That 
he  may  better  judge  of  tlie  greatness  of  His  indignation,  and  the 
power  of  His  dreadful  anger  ;"  hear  now  the  protestation,  even  the 
oath  of  Him  who,  *'  because  He  could  swear  by  no  greater,  swore 
by  Himself."  (Hela.  vi.  13.)    "  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord,  I  will  not 
show  mercy  to  you."     "  For  I  hft  up  my  hand  to  heaven,  and  say 
I  live  for  ever.     If  I  whet  my  glittering  sword,  I  wiU  make  my  ar- 
rows drunk  with  blood,  and  my  sword  shall  devour  flesh,  &c." 
(Dent,  xxxii  40,  41,  42.)     The  Judge  of  the  world  will  say  "  That 
these  three  men,  Noah,  Daniel  and  Job  icere  in  it "  (Ezek.  xiv.  14,  20), 
and  this  is  indeed  a  remarkable  expression.     But  wherefore  this 
group  ?     "Why  this  sacred  trio .'     History  of  the  Helirews,  unroll 
thy  pages  :  sacred  volume  of  the  annals    of  this   great  people, 
teach  us  now,  "  For  what  nation  is  there  so  great,  who  hath  God  so 
nigh  unto  them  as  the  Lord  our  God  is  in  all  things  that  we  call  upon 
Him  for  ?"  (Deut.  iv.  7.)     Though  Noah,  Daniel  and  Job  stood  be- 
fore me  !     They  are  too  great  for  all  panegyric.     A  few  words 
from  the  Bible,  one  characteristic  of  each  will  express  more  than 
we  could  say ;  this  is  their  due.     Noah  "  the  tenth  "  (we  have 
seen  the  seventh  man,  for  we  consider  as  ages  these  men,  these 
giants,  these  men  of  renown),   Noah  the  tenth,  the  Prophet,  the 
herald,  the  "  prophecier  of  Justice,"  herald  of  judgments.  He  built 
the  Ark,  and  by  this  Ark  which  he  built  by  faith,  he  condemned 
the  world  I     The  world  then  perished  in  the  flood — not  one  of  the 
imgodly  escaped  ;  he  had  warned  them,  he  had  cried  to  them,  he 
had  published,  threatened  and  preached,  during  the  space  of  a 
hundred  and  twenty  years,  all  in  vain.     Type  of  the  future.     So 
will  it  be  in  the  end  of  this  world,  as  it  tvas  in  the  days  of  Noah. 
And  Daniel,  in  the  days  of  the  captivity  !     Daniel  a  pleasant  man, 
a  man  to  be  desired  !     From  the  commencement  of  his  prayer,  the 

word  of  deliverance  has  gone  forth the  throne  of  heaven  is 

moved — the  archangel  spreads  his  whigs  and  prepares  at  that  very 
hour,  at  that  moment  even,  to  leave  the  presence  of  Him  whom 
he  never  ceases  to  worship  and  adore.  Daniel,  Belshazzar,  chief 
of  the  Magi — Daniel,  in  whom  is  the  spirit  of  the  holy  gods ! 
What  glory,  what  happiness,  Avhat  honor !  He  has  shut  the  moutlis 
of  the  lions.  ...  0,  Daniel!  thy  God  sees  thee  yet !  He  has  de- 
clared to  this  king  of  kings  and  of  nations  who  boasts  himself, 
that  seven  times  shall  pass  over  him,  and  he  shall  be  driven  out 


180  CHRISTIAN    STUDIES. 

with  the  beasts  of  the  field,  until  he  knows  that  the  Lord  reigns, 
and  that  His  Kingdom  ruletli  over  all.  Bnt  I  mnst  hasten  to  the 
end  of  my  journey.  Job,  the  most  powerful  of  the  Orientals  .  .  . 
his  reasoning  with  the  great  God,  who  deigns  to  reply  to  him  from 
out  the  whiiiwijid.  He  only  can  silence  Job,  before  whom  his 
ehlers  were  as  children  and  fools.  Behold  these  three  men,  has 
there  ever  been  any  like  them  .'  Let  us  speak  of  the  great  king, 
who  built,  who  consecrated  a  holy  temple  to  the  Lord,  who  fell 
upon  his  knees  before  all  the  congregation  of  Israel,  and  prayed 
and  blessed  the  people  with  his  hands  raised  to  heaven.  There 
are  here  yet  greater  than  Solomon,  of  whom,  hoAvever,  we  cannot 
speak.  We  will  not  speak  of  the  giant  slain  by  the  youthful  shep- 
herd, the  son  of  Jesse.  We  will  say  nothing  of  Nehemiah,  Avhose 
countenance  was  sad  when  he  thought  of  the  desolation  of  the 
city  of  his  fathers,  and  Avho,  after  a  painful  journey,  was  obliged 
to  make  by  night  the  circuit  of  the  city  in  a  country  surrounded 
by  enemies.  We  will  merely  name  Ezra,  and  his  honorable  title, 
Ezra  scribe  of  the  ivords  of  the  Lav:  of  the  Lord,  with  prayers  and 
tears  confessing  the  sins  of  the  people. 

Let  us  change  the  scene.  Behold  Moses  and  Elias  on  Mount 
Tabor  ;  the  Law  and  the  Prophets  united  ;  the  latter  yet  great  by 
his  challenge,  his  defiance  and  his  victory  over  the  four  hundred 
priests  of  Baal.  Besides  these  men,  who  are  those  three,  so 
different  in  their  appearance,  and  yet  so  closely  related  in  their 
interests  ?  They  are  Peter,  James,  and  John,  afterwards  known 
as  THE  PILLARS.  Scc  thcsB  fivc  Avituesses  of  the  double  covenant, 
making  by  tlieir  presence  here  a  moving  pavilion,  a  tent  prepared 
for  a  night,  like  the  mortal  life  of  man ;  like  the  tabernacle  in  the 
Avilderness,  raised  in  honor  of  Him,  who,  descending  from  the 
skies,  walks  upon  the  heights ;  goes  from  hill  to  hill,  from  the 
mountain  of  Capernaum,  where  he  teaches,  to  Moriah,  where  he 
preaches ;  from  Jordan  Avhere  he  is  baptized,  to  the  Mount  of  Olives, 
where  he  suffers  ;  and  to  Calvary,  where  he  expires,  fulfilling  the 
words  of  the  prophecy.  "  How  beautiful  upon  the  mountains, 
are  the  feet  of  Him  that  bringeth  good  tidings ;  that  publisheth 
peace ;  that  saith  unto  Zion,  thy  God  reigneth  !"  Glorious  beauty, 
hidden  loveliness,  the  perfection  of  love,  of  mercy,  and  truth 
shining  from  the  cross. 

TheHoly  One  is  dead,  and  no  one  regards  it.  But  the  Gospel 
is  preached — witnesses  are  multiplied — the  Holy  Ghost  accompa- 
nies their  words,  with  the  demonstration  of  the  spirit,  and  with  po"w- 
er.  Look  at  them  once  more  unitedly  before  they  separate  to  preach 
the  Gospel  to  all  nations,  beginning  at  Jerusalem.  The  disciple 
whom  Christ  loved,  and  who  loved  Christ.  *  *  *  *  James  and  John, 
you  were  well  called  Boanerges — sons  of  thimder.  Without  doubt, 
your  irresistible  word,  your  pow^erful  spirit,  which  vanquished  all 
error,  and  silenced  all  falsehood,  tells  this  which  distinguishes  you. 

Cephas,  Peter,  rock — rock  of  faith,  rock  built  upon  the  waves, 
which  yet  the  tempest  cannot  shake !  And  Saul  become  Paul, 
incomprehensible  man,  standing  alone  from  all  the  world  (like 
Job  of  old)  without  the  sacred  college  of  the  prophets.    Hear  him 


CHRISTIAN    STUDIES.  181 

speak  of  himself  as  an  untimely  birth,  as  the  least  of  the  apostles, 
not  worthy  to  be  called  an  apostle,  because  he  had  persecuted 
the  Church  of  Christ.  Yet,  he  dares  to  add:  "I  have  labored 
more  abundantly  than  they  all ;  yet,  not  I,  but  the  grace  of  God 
wliich  was  with  me."  Tlie  love  of  Christ  constraining  me.  And 
how  did  it  operate.'  "In  dangers  oft;  in  dangers  from  false 
brethren  ;  a  day  and  a  night  in  the  deep,"  &c.  (2  Cor.  xi.  26). 

Singular  preaching  of  doctrine  !  Revealing  in  detail  the  Lord's 
Supper,  at  which  he  had  not  been  present,  but  which  he  had  re- 
ceived from  the  Lord  himself ;  and  presenting  it  in  its  most  perfect 
development,  and  with  all  its  mvsterious  excellence. — (1  Cor. 
xi.  23.) 

Let  us  praise,  says  the  son  of  Sirach,  let  tts  praise  these  illustrious 
men,  &c. — Chap.  li.  In  the  midst  of  this  glorious  cortege,  the 
august  image  of  the  Son  of  man  shines  forth  :  the  root  and  the 
offspring  of  David,  his  Lord  and  his  Son,  the  bright  and  morning 
Star,  with  a  new  and  purer  brilliancy.  The  messenger  who  pre- 
pared the  way  before  Him,  in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elias, 
though  holy  from  his  mother's  womb,  and  greater  than  all  who 
had  preached  him,  yet  felt  himself  unworthy  to  unloose  the  shoe 
from  his  foot.  What  a  man  among  such  men,  how  wise  among 
so  many  wise  men,  each  of  whom  is  one  of  a  thousand.  What  a 
prophet  in  the  midst  of  the  prophets  !  Truly  this  is  He  of  whom 
Moses  sj)ake  to  our  fathers :  "  The  Lord  thy  God  will  raise  up 
unto  thee  a  Prophet  from  the  midst  of  thee,  of  thy  brethren ;  and 
whosoever  shall  not  hear  this  prophet,  shall  he  cut  off  from  the 
midst  of  the  people."  "  This  is  my  beloved  Son  in  whom  I  am 
well  pleased,  hear  ye  him."  God  of  God,  Light  of  Light.,  ascend- 
ing upon  high — the  Counsellor  wonderful. 

We  have  now  seen  some  of  the  pillars  of  this  holy  temple ;  but 
is  the  temple  itself  empty .'  What  is  the  temple  without  the 
Divine  presence  .'  Destroy  this  temple  !  He  will  raise  it  up!  Is 
not  His  name  Emmanuel !  God  with  us  !  "  Behold  I  will  send 
you  the  Comforter."  And  now,  pious  souls,  the  Lord  whom  you 
love — the  Angel  of  the  Covenant  that  ever  attends  you  will  enter 
His  temple,  and  will  not  wait.  Behold  !  He  comes,  saith  the  Lord 
of  Hosts. 


FAITH 


KNOWLEDGE 


TRANSLATED  BY  M.  M.  BACKUS, 


FAITH  AND  KNOWLEDGE. 


'El'  rr]  TTiaTti  v^Hiv      .      ,      .      rhv  yvoj(rtv. 

"  Add  to  your  faith  ....  knowledge." — 2  Peter  i.  5. 

Knowledge  and  faith,  as  set  forth  in  onr  text,  are,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  world,  two  opposite  things,  and  mntually  exchule  each 
other.  Faith  in  revealed  verities,  as  one  has  remarked,  is  incom- 
patible with  that  profound  erudition  of  the  human  intellect,  which 
probes  the  depths  of  the  earth,  measures  the  expanse  of  the  hea- 
vens, and  explores  the  still  more  mysterious  realms  of  the  spirit  of 
man.  The  names  of  Bacon,  Newton,  Pascal,  Leibnitz,  Euler,  and 
a  host  of  similar  spirits,  have  come  into  collision  with,  and  more 
than  once  repelled,  that  singular  assertion.  You  will  nevertheless 
constantly  meet  it  in  the  world,  for  there  is  not  a  single  error 
which  men  are  not  incessantly  strtiggling  to  rebuild  in  our 
midst. 

It  is  not,  however,  to  combat  this  error  that  we  shall  devote  the 
present  hour.  Our  design  is  to  penetrate  farther  into  the  essence 
of  faith,  audi  nto  the  domain  of  knowledge.  We  shall  consider 
another  faith  and  another  knowledge  ;  the  faith  of  the  heart,  or 
the  Christian  life,  and  theology,  or  the  knowledge  of  God. 

In  reality,  if  we  step  beyond  the  threshold  and  enter  the  sanc- 
tuary of  divine  knowledge,  we  will  there  discover  the  same  claims 
set  up,  which  we  had  just  left  behind  in  the  world,  applied,  how- 
ever, to  other  objects.  Faith  is  there  the  new  principle  of  life, 
and  of  holiness,  which  the  word  of  the  Holy  Spirit  develops  in  the 
hearts  of  the  elect  of  God. 

Knowledge,  or  theology,  is  the  philosophy  of  that  faith,  the  re- 
sult of  researches,  reflection,  and  i)atient  labor  of  the  human  in- 
tellect applied  to  divine  things,  and  endeavoring  to  investigate 
and  impart  to  them  clearness,  detiniteness,  and  that  systematic 
oneness,  of  which  they  are  susceptible. 

In  this  novel  field  the  spectator  is  immediately  struck  with  the 
decision  of  its  incomjiatibility  with  knowledge  ;  not,  it  is  true, 
that  certain  historic  faith,  of  which  all  theologians  ought  to  a 
greater  or  less  degree  to  be  in  possession,  but  the  living  faith  of 
Christians.  Unregenerate  theologians  direct  against  this  doctrine 
the  same  attacks,  and  the  same  engines  of  war,  as  the-\vise  of  this 
world  employ  against  the  wisdom  of  God.  There  is  not  the  slight- 
est agreement,  if  you  listen  to  those  men,  between  a  living  faith 
and  theology. 


18f5  FAITH  AND  KNOWLEDGE. 

It  must  be  acknowledged  that  there  is  some  truth  concealed 
iinder  their  assertions.  Tlie  two  things,  faith  aud  theology,  have 
been,  and  are  still  often  separated  by  many  ministers  of  the  gos- 
pel. Among  them  are  tliose  who  are  uniquely  theologians,  inti- 
mately acquainted  with  the  various  branches  of  theological  sci- 
ence, and  able  to  explain  the  Christian  system  with  the  most  me- 
thodical exactness,  but  in  whose  hearts  the  life  of  faith  never  had 
existence.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  some  of  their  number  who 
enjoy  the  faith  of  the  heart,  the  Christian  life,  but  are  strangers  to 
theology,  and  regard  it  as  an  undoubted  science,  but  still  a  barren 
one,  from  whicli  they  may  never  hope  to  derive  any  personal  ad- 
vantage. 

Your  feet  are  exposed  to  both  these  by-paths  of  error.  With  a 
large  number  of  theologians  we  have  believed  that  it  was  unne- 
cessary for  the  ministers  of  Christ  at  the  present  day  to  isolate 
these  two  things,  and  that  their  just  combination  would  result  in 
the  greatest  utility  to  the  service  of  God.  We  have  concluded,  in 
accordance  Avith  the  apostolic  declaration,  that  the  pastor  ought 
to  be  a  teacher.     (Ephes.  iv.  11.) 

Let  us  then  briefly  investigate  the  relations  in  which  faith  stands 
to  knowledge  ;  let  us  indicate  the  necessity  of  the  former,  and  the 
advantages  of  the  latter,  and  at  the  same  time  lay  down  in  our 
charts  the  sunken  rocks  which  we  shotild  avoid. 


And  first,  I  address  myself  to  those  who,  not  having  in  their 
heart  the  living  faith  of  Christians,  may  be  harboring  the  imagina- 
tion of  supplying  its  place  with  theology. 

It  is  impossible  for  a  Christian,  and  by  consequence  for  a  minis- 
ter, to  exist  without  the  life  of  faith.  You  may  think  that  the  sci- 
entific development  of  Christian  doctrine  will  produce  within  you 
that  living  faith,  without  which  you  cannot  exist.  No,  my  breth- 
ren. The  work  of  man  cannot  create  the  work  of  God.  Theology 
is  not  the  mother  of  faith,  but  faith  is  the  mother  of  theology. 

The  cultivation  of  theological  science  has  never  produced  a 
renovation  of  Christian  life  in  the  church.  It  is  the  simple  preach- 
ing of  Christian  truths,  it  is  that  faith  of  the  heart,  that  conviction, 
and  those  intimate  experiences,  which  are  expressed  by  the  Apos- 
tle with  a  holy  enthusiasm — "  I  believed  and  therefore  have  spok- 
en" (2  Cor.  iv.  13) — from  which  such  renovations  have  ever  tak- 
en their  rise.  If  these  are  instances  where  theological  instruction 
has  been  the  means  of  producing  the  faith  of  the  heart — and  the 
number  is  by  no  means  small — it  was  due  not  to  the  theological 
element,  but  the  element  of  faith,  which  was  found  in  that  instruc- 
tion. It  was  because  the  teacher  was  full  of  faith,  and  not  be- 
cause he  was  full  of  reflection,  that  he  became  a  means  of  regene- 
ration. Faith  produces  faith,  but  idea  produces  only  idea.  The 
purity,  the  definiteness,  and  the  systematic  arrangement  of  doc- 
trines, has  never  given  birth  to  spiritual  life. 

It  is  not  a  school,  nor  a  theologian,  to  whom  the  minister  or  the 


FAITH  AND  KNOWLEDGE.  187 

simple  believer  in  quest  of  faith  ought  to  address  himself  It  is 
to  the  chief,  to  Jesus  Christ.  Seek  life  not  in  tlie  apophthegms  of 
knowledge,  but  in  Him  "  in  whom  dwelleth  all  the  fullness  of  the 
Godhead  bodily,"  (Col.  ii.  9.)  Every  believer,  and  consequently 
every  minister,  is  called  upon  in  his  office  of  prophet,  to  ask  im- 
mediately fro]n  Jesus  Christ  his  own  measure  of  grace.  The 
quality  of  mediator  between  God  and  man  no  more  appertains  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  theologian,  than  to  the  hierarchy  of  the 
priest.  It  is  not  in  any  theological  summary,  nor  in  any  common 
places,*  in  which  men  should  search  for  faith ;  but  in  the  Bible, 
immediately  in  the  Bible,  through  the  illumination  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  promised  unto  all. 

Let  us  advance  another  step.  How  far  soever  theology  maybe 
from  producing  life,  it  is  nevertheless  the  Christian  life  which  pro- 
duces theology.  It  is  faith  which  furnishes  science  ^\^Mi  the 
media  of  knowledge,  the  ideas  upon  which  it  ought  to  reflect,  and 
the  elements  which  it  ought  to  combine.  For  the  true  knowledge, 
which  enlightens  the  eyes,  is  constructed  not  out  of  abstract  ideas 
and  dead  elements,  but  out  of  living  doctrines  and  jprinciples, 
Avhich  are  quickened  into  life  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 

There  is  another  point  farther  on,  which  we  may  also  reach. 
It  is  a  'living  faith,  which  imparts  to  the  spirit  that  rapture,  that 
expansion,  that  depth,  and  that  activity,  necessary  to  set  in  mo- 
tion the  primitive  elements,  and  thus  give  birth  to  a  system  with 
all  its  ramihcations  entire.  An  epoch  dead  in  the  matter  of  faith 
has  never  produced,  and  never  will  produce,  a  theology.  The 
epochs  which  have  been  creative  of  knowledge  have  uniformly 
been  preceded — history  assures  us  of  the  fact — by  a  revival  of 
Christian  life  in  the  Church.  It  was  the  ujisoaring  of  faith  which 
was  the  parent  of  those  theological  treatises  that  signalize  the 
age  of  Augustine,  of  the  scholastics  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
and  of  the  Reformers. 

If  you  would  be  theologians,  cast  yourselves  into  the  current 
of  living  waters.  It  is  faith  wiiich  gives  the  impulse,  without 
which  no  noble  deed  can  ever  be  produced  :  that  just  truth,  M'ith- 
out  which  you  will  ramble  in  despair  among  vahi  systems;  that 
life,  without  which  ^your  path  will  only  lie  through  a  valley  of 
dry  bones. 

Test,  then,  the  opposite  system.  Let  the  Christian  life  be  only 
a  principle  of  your  theology,  and  then  you  will  fall  into  the  one 
or  the  other  of  two  evils :  for  either  you  will  cast  yourselves,  as 
thousands  have  done  before  you,  upon  the  speculative  distinc- 
tions of  useless  dialectics ;  or,  choosing  a  negative  tendency, 
and  a  hostile  attitude,  you  will  take  up  arms  against  what  you 
ought  to  defend  ;  you  will  exercise,  in  the  sphere  which  is  as- 
signed to  you,  only  a  destructive  inHucncc,  and  instead  of  erect- 
ing an  edifice  to  the  living  God,  you  will  be  amusing  yourselves, 
as  so  many  theologians,  alas !  have  done,  in  destroying  that 
which  already  exists,  and  rejoicing  over  its  ruins. 

*  Summa  theologica  and  Loci  communes,  were  the  ordinary  titles  of  theolo- 
gical theories  before  and  after  the  Reformation. 


188  FAITH  AND  KNOWLEDGE. 

And  what  basis,  gentlemen,  would  you  construct  for  theology, 
if  not  the  Word  of  God,  and  faith  in  the  divine  testimony  wrought 
ill  the  heart  by  the  Holy  Spirit?  If  theology  has  not  that  basis, 
it  must  of  necessity  repose  either  upon  the  transitory  direction 
of  the  spirit  of  the  age,  or  else  upon  the  adventnresome  specula- 
tions of  the  human  reason.  Witli  only  such  points  of  support, 
knowledge  will  have  strange  wanderings,  lamentable  falls,  and 
will  soon  be  lost  from  view  in  those  winding  passages,  the  limits 
of  which  are  overhung  with  the  shades  of  night.  In  order  that 
the  tree  of  knowledge  may  prosper,  it  must,  as  David  says,  be 
planted  upon  the  banks  of  the  stream  of  the  law  of  God ;  and  it 
should  uniformly  and  exclusively  gather  from  that  pure  current 
its  sap  and  its  elements  of  life.  Then  it  will  send  forth  its  fruit 
in  its  season  ;  its  foliage  will  not  dry  up  ;  it  shall  flourish  for 
ever.  But  if  any  strange  elements  should  be  absorbed  by  the 
roots,  the  same  tree  will  soon  change  its  color,  will  languish,  will 
perish  and  die. 

Or  rather,  plant  the  tree  upon  the  declivity  of  Golgotha,  in  the 
shadow  of  the  cross,  and  under  the  very  eyes  of  the  love  of  the 
crucified  God,  who  is  the  wisdom  of  God  and  life  itself.  That 
wliich  gives  life  to  the  most  humble  faith  of  the  poorest  believer, 
is  the  same  as  that  which  gives  it  the  most  sublime  knowledge  of 
the  wisest  teacher. 

Faith  is  not  only  the  creative  principle  of  theology,  but  is 
also  its  renovating  power.  Knowledge — we  have  too  many  ex- 
amples of  the  fact — can  detach  itself  from  the  Word  of  God.  At 
such  times  it  goes  astray  ;  a  fever  of  incredulity  rages  in  the 
veins,  and  a  crisis  has  entered  upon  its  development.  What  will 
heal  the  disorder .'  What  will  restore  the  wanderer  to  the  right 
path  ? 

Statutes,  laws,  acts  of  power .'  Doubtless  those  who  have  been 
appointed  to  the  oversight  of  education  ought  to  guard  against 
the  influence  of  that  which,  instead  of  communicating  life,  gives 
only  death.  But  any  external  force,  arrests  of  justice,  and  human 
power,  will  never  suffice  for  the  cure  of  the  malady.  Restrain  its 
action  temporarily  without,  and  it  will  only  commit  the  greater 
ravages  within. 

What  then  shall  save  knowledge  .' 

The  life  of  the  Church,  my  brethren,  the  simple  faith  of  be- 
lievers. That  faith  and  that  life  existed  anterior  to  all  theology, 
and  independently  of  all  knowledge  ;  they  can  never  perish,  and 
in  them  is  found  the  energy  which  is  to  heal  the  nations.  Upon 
theology  they  exercise  a  powerful  reaction.  The  teachers,  envi- 
roned on  every  side  Avith  manifestations  of  the  Christian  faith, 
\vi\\,  in  spite  of  themselves,  be  drawn  back,  and  that  by  an  irre- 
sistible force,  towards  the  focus  of  light  and  life.  They  will  be 
constrained  to  abandon,  one  by  one,  all  their  perilous  jiositions. 
Truth  every  day  will  gain  greater  power  in  the  camp  of  the  ene- 
my, and  will  gradually  concentrate  an  overwhelming  opposing 
force.  Knowledge  itself,  obliged  to  recognize  the  fact  of  her  for- 
mer detachment  from  that  to  Avhich  it  ought  to  have  been  united. 


FAITH  AND  KNOWLEDGE.  189 

will  elevate  her  standard  again,  and  cover  the  errors  of  knoAV- 
ledge.  It  may  be,  for  the  case  is  not  an  extraordinary  one,  that  it 
was  scepticism  in  the  Church  which  carried  scepticism  into  the- 
ology.    The  faith  of  the  Church  will  restore  faith  to  theology. 

That  which  has  infected  must  heal ;  that  which  struck  the  blow 
will  bind  up  the  wound.  The  life  and  light  of  the  Church  are 
the  sun  of  theology  :  when  the  sun  is  concealed,  knowledge  is 
overshadowed  and  perishes  ;  when  he  shines  forth  anew,  know- 
ledge reappears  in  his  train  under  the  impulse  of  a  new  life. 

Therefore,  my  brethren,  in  order  that  knowledge  may  be  cul- 
tivated with  success  in  a  university,  an  academy,  or  a  school, 
there  is  need  of  the  presence  of  liberty,  but  first  of  all  of  piety  ; 
there  is  need  of  ideas,  but  before  them  there  is  need  of  faith  ; 
there  is,  in  tine,  need  of  knowledge,  but  antecedent  to  all  else 
there  is  need  of  submission  to  the  Word  of  God.  Schools  of 
theology,  in  order  to  prosper  in  a  scientific  form,  ought  to  become 
sanctuaries.  Far  from  them  be  every  profane  mocker — far  from 
them  all  buffoonery,  unseemly  jesting,  loose  morals,  and  con- 
formity to  a  world  buried  in  sin.  These  would  prove  their  de- 
struction, both  as  temples  of  knowledge  and  as  seminaries  of  the 
prophets. 

The  holiness  of  a  school  is  the  surest  guaranty  for  the  knoAv- 
ledge  of  a  school. 

"  The  Levites  .shall  be  mine,"  saith  the  Lord. 

KNOWLEDGE. 

Faith,  then,  is  necessary  to  theology.  Bnt  there  is  a  second 
rock  which  we  must  lay  down  in  the  chart :  that  against  which 
all  those  have  dashed  who  have  regarded  theology  as  a  sterile 
science,  without  ai^plicatiou  and  without  advantage  to  the 
Church. 

Let  us  first  then  obtain  a  definite  apprehension  of  what  we  now 
mean  by  the  term  knowledge.  It  is  not  that  haughty  knowledge 
which  pufleth  up,  but  an  humble  science,  which  is  conscious  of 
knowing  nothhig  by  itself,  and  of  being  bound  to  apprehend 
everything  from  the  word.  It  is  not  a  knowledge  detached  from 
God,  but  one  Avhich  God  himself  accords  to  fervent  prayers,  to 
conscientious  investigations,  to  serious  and  holy  meditations,  and 
all  the  works  which  arc  vivified  and  rendered  elRcacious  by  the 
breathings  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  actual  state  of  the  world,  and  of  the  French  nation  in  par- 
ticular, demonstrates  too  forcibly  the  utility  and  necessity  of  this 
knowledge.  Why  is  Christianity  so  little  known,  and  its  funda- 
mental doctrines  so  grossly  misconceived  .'  Wc  will  not  hesitate 
to  declare  our  own  conviction  of  the  cause.  It  is  because,  while 
other  sciences  have  been  taking  a  rapid  flight,  the  science  of 
theology  has  had  no  existence  with  us  during  the  present  gene- 
ration, or  at  best  has  existed  in  an  enfeebled  frame. 

There  are  perhaps  certain  epochs  in  the  social  and  intellectual 
development  of  a  people,  in  which  it  will  suffice  for  the  Christian 
life  to  animate  the  church.     But  that  will  not  suffice  in  the  pre- 


190  FAITH  AND  KNOWLEDGE. 

sent  actual  state  of  society.  When  man  is  fully  develoxjed  in 
every  function,  it  is  man  in  liis  maturity  which  religion  should 
embrace.  She  is  large  enough  for  the  task,  and  there  is  nothing 
in  the  man  which  can  escaj^e  her  grasp.  The  facnlty  of  cogni- 
tion, which  is  within  us,  must  find  aliment  enough  of  the  kind 
it  requires,  and  ample  room  enough  for  the  development  of  its 
energies.  The  intellect  comes  from  God,  as  well  as  the  affections 
and  the  will.  To  pretend,  as  some  have  done,  that  it  is  sufficient 
for  Christianity  to  speak  to  the  heart,  and  that  it  can  abandon  the 
intellect  without  yielding  any  satisfaction  to  its  demands,  is  to 
advance  the  same  proposition  as  that  the  sun  rises  only  upon  a 
part  of  the  creation  of  God ;  it  is  the  same  as  to  revolt  against 
that  order  which  has  been  established  from  on  high. 

It  has  become  necessary  for  Christianity  to  defend  her  own 
position.  She  must  maintain  her  own  rank  in  the  face  of  all 
human  sciences.  Theology  must  take  up  its  residence  in  the 
bosom  of  Christian  societies,  and  become,  what  the  great  regene- 
rator of  modern  sciences.  Lord  Bacon,  has  called  it, "  the  transcen- 
dental science." 

Do  not  imagine  that  the  existence  of  this  science  is  useless  for 
the  salvation  of  souls.  Wherefore  is  it,  that  in  all  countries  where 
theological  science  is  cultivated,  as  Germany  for  example,  so 
much  knowledge  and  intelligence  is  found  among  the  laity,  and 
so  many  true  Christians,  while  with  us  they  are  so  rare  in  the 
same  proportion  .' 

The  existence  of  the  science  alone  will  explain  the  phenome- 
non. It  has  rendered  men  of  wit  and  education  attentive  to  the 
instructions  of  God.  It  has  led  them  also  to  direct  their  eyes 
towards  the  branches  of  the  tree  which  they  are  cultivating. 
Science  has  rendered  the  Word  of  God  and  Christianity  honora- 
ble, even  in  the  eyes  of  philosophers  :  some  of  their  number  have 
investigated  it  for  the  simple  pleasure  of  its  knowledge,  but  in 
that  propitious  moment  Christianity  has  seized  them,  and  the 
Word  of  God  has  proved  their  salvation. 

Let  us,  then,  lament,  that  while  all  sciences  enjoy  so  much 
favor  and  so  many  worshippers  among  Frenchmen,  the  science 
of  theology  is  still  without  monuments  and  without  trophies — 
we  should  almost  have  said,  without  an  existence  and  a  name. 
Let  us  weep  over  the  fact,  that  while  all  the  branches  of  the  tree 
of  knowledge,  under  the  shade  of  which  our  generation  delights 
to  repose,  are  full  of  vigor,  and  loaded  with  the  richest  fruits, 
still  that  branch  Avhich  is  the  pruicipal  one  of  the  tree,  is  fragile, 
desiccate,  despoiled  of  its  verdure,  and  barren  of  fruit.  This 
immense  vacuum  is  one  of  the  most  efficient  causes  of  the  humiliat- 
ed condition  of  the  faith. 

The  general  opinion,  however,  tends  in  a  contrary  direction. 
Vou  will  meet  not  only  men  of  the  world,  and  adversaries  of  the 
faith,  but  even  men  and  ministers  of  unquestionable  piety,  who 
jiretend  that  every  evil  in  the  Church  comes  of  theology. 

Theology,  say  they,  with  its  precise  definitions,  its  subtle  dis 
tinctions  and  its  sententious  systems,  darkens  the  simplicity  of  the 


FAITH    AND    KNOWLEDGE.  191 

faith,  dampens  the  fervor  of  the  Cliristian  life,  and  dishonors  reli- 
gion in  the  sight  of  all  well  educated  men.  s  Theology  has  loroved 
the  bane  of  Christianity.  Happy  days,  when  there  was  no  theo- 
logy !  0.  the  simplicity  of  Christian  doctrine  in  the  primitive  ages 
of  the  church  !     Would  to  heaven  we  might  return  thither  ! 

This  so  much  vaunted  simplicity  of  the  primitive  ages,  I  will 
here  remark,  does  not  deserve  to  be  all  that  is  made  of  it.  In  a 
great  number  of  instances  it  was  the  offspring  of  ignorance  rather 
than  of  a  strict  attachment  to  the  line  of  trrith;  it  was  the  simpli- 
city of  infants,  who  knew  but  little,  rather  than  that  of  men,  who, 
having  weighed  good  and  evil,  chose  to  attach  themselves  to  the 
good.  Thus  that  simplicity  so  much  regretted  by  men,  who  are 
crying  out  for  piety  and  not  for  knowledge,  was  far  from  being 
exempt  from  errors,  and  oftentimes  very  grave  ones. 

But  let  us  come  to  that  objection,  which  has  been  deemed  wor- 
thy of  signal  repetition  ;  namely,  that  this  study  is  no  protection 
against  the  waywardness  of  science  and  none  against  science 
itself  It  must  be  confessed,  that  that  is  a  false  direction  of  know- 
ledge which  makes  it  come  in  collision  with  the  simplicity  of 
the  faith.  But  it  is  only  in  the  Christian  life  that. true  knowledge 
has  any  guaranties  for  its  vigor  and  prosperity.  Whenever  it  is 
developed  independently  of  that  life,  it  is  soon  seen  to  lose  itself 
in  vain  formulas  and  in  idle  distinctions :  it  becomes  a  game  of 
dialectics,  which  stifles  in  all  who  cultivate  it  the  last  respirations 
of  life,  and  destroys  in  theology  and  religion  all  that  consideration, 
which  is  their  peculiar  i)roperty. 

This,  however,  is  not  knowledge  :  it  is  not  a  legitimate  branch 
of  the  tree.  It  is  a  parasitical  plant,  which,  in  spite  of  its  efforts 
l^ut  forth  to  confound  its  woody  boughs  and  yellowish  leaves  with 
the  true  branch,  will  still  be  detected  by  the  master  of  the  tree  as 
illegitimate  and  pernicious,  and  will  be  forced  to  disengage  itself 
from  its  unnatural  union. 

The  objection,  then,  turns  in  favor  of  that  true  science,  which, 
emanating  from  the  word  of  God,  and  intimately  connected  with 
the  Christian  life,  flees  from  such  vagaries.  It  is  not  a  dry  skele- 
ton, which  it  would  present  to  the  world  as  the  symbol  of  truth  : 
it  is  a  body,  clothed  with  flesh,  and  filled  with  tlie  Holy  Spirit,  and 
with  the  life  that  cometh  from  on  high.  It  will  not  isolate  any  of 
the  faculties  of  man.  Addressing  itself  to  his  intelligence,  it  also 
addresses  itself  to  his  heart.  That  which  you  reproach  it  with 
lacking,  is  precisely  that  which,  above  all  other  things,  it  possess- 
es in  the  most  eminent  degree  ;  consequently  it  will  be  the  very 
opposite  of  that,  which  your  fears  have  represented  it  to  be.  At- 
tacking every  individual,  it  will  gain  over  every  individual  to  its 
cause. 

Doubtless,  says  another  objector,  the  science  is  useful  to  the 
v/orld,  for  those  without,  as  the  Scripture  says— but  it  is  useless 
for  the  church. 

Strange  illusion  !  The  legitimate  science,  such  as  we  have  de- 
scribed to  you,  will  render  the  church  the  most  distinguished  ser- 
vice.    It  will  maintain  the  Christian  doctrine  pure  from  all  strange 


192  FAITH    AND    KNOWLEDGE. 

elements  :  and  when  the  latter  may  receive  contamination  from 
any  quarter,  the  former  will  be  at  hand  as  its  refiner. 

Such  strange  elements  too  readily  penetrate,  first,  the  Christian 
life,  then  the  idea  of  Christianity,  and  at  length  knowledge  itself. 
This  is  what  took  place  in  the  first  periods  of  the  Church.  Strange 
elements  had  gradually  united  themselves  so  intimately  with  the 
scriptural  elements,  and  so  effectually  incorporated  themselves 
with  the  faith  of  Christians,  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  dis- 
tinguish the  true  from  the  false.  Teachers  and  simple-hearted 
believers  presented  an  inconceivable  mixture  of  falsehood  and 
truth. 

The  discernment  of  these  diverse  elements,  the  separation  of  the 
false  from  the  true,  is  one  of  the  most  ennobling  tasks  of  true  sci- 
ence. It  is  one  of  the  works  to  which  she  has  been  destined  by 
God.  Her  piercing  and  unfailing  eye  discerns  in  that  confused 
assembly  that  which  is  from  God,  and  that  which  is  from  man. 
A  true  servant  of  the  domestic  head,  theology  is  constantly  drag- 
ging the  net,  which  is  cast  into  the  sea  of  ages,  and  is  constantly 
amassing,  in  the  lapse  of  time,  materials  of  every  conceivable 
variety  of  character.  With  the  torch  of  Revelation  in  her  hand, 
she  discovers  and  disentangles  that  which  is  corrupt  from  that 
Avhich  is  pure  :  she  stores  away  all  that  is  good  in  chosen  vessels, 
and  flings  away  again  all  that  is  worthless. 

And  what  she  has  once  purified  she  will  keep  pnre.  She  will 
w-atch  with  all  the  vigilance  of  a  sleepless  sentinel,  that  the  pride 
of  human  reason  and  the  vagaries  of  enthusiasm  do  not  approach 
to  injure  the  plant  which  she  has  preserved.  As  the  officers  who 
are  placed  in  charge  by  the  sovereign,  to  see  that  no  vulgar  in- 
gredients be  combined  with  the  pure  gold  in  the  formation  of  the 
royal  jewels,  so  a  pure  theology  is  charged  by  our  Lord  to  main- 
tain Christian  doctrine,  that  jewel  of  God,  pure  from  all  himian 
dross,  and  in  the  holiness  and  regal  beauty  which  belonged  to  her 
upon  her  first  descent  from  heaven. 

We  turn,  however,  to  remind  you  of  the  advantages  it  offers  to 
you,  who  are  educated  in  her  holy  tuition,  called  to  be  one  day 
the  dispensers  of  her  treasures.  And  what  advantages  has  not 
knowledge  to  bestow  upon  the  minister  of  the  word?  What  ser- 
vice in  particular  has  she  not  rendered  to  the  very  age  in  which  we 
live  .'  Of  how  great  necessity  is  her  existence  at  an  epoch  when 
there  are  so  many  objections,  doubts,  and  controversies,  not  only 
in  relation  to  this  or  that  unimportant  point  but  also  to  a  point, 
which  concerns  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  salvation. 

It  is  true  knowledge — knowledge  formed  imder  the  combined 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  word,  and  blessed  from  above 
— which  will  enable  you  to  penetrate  most  deeply  into  divine 
revelation;  which  w'ill  capacitate  you  to  find  new  treasures,  un- 
foreseen and  veiled  from  the  ordinary  reader,  and  which,  while 
they  augment  your  knowledge,  w^ill  also  enrich  your  experience, 
and  increase  the  efficiency  of  your  ministry. 

It  is  this  which,  giving  importance  both  to  the  holy  doctrines 
and  the  sad  errors  of  times  which  are  no  more,  making  manifest 


FAITH    AND    KNOWLEDGE.  193 

the  faith  and  disclosing  the  failings  of  the  church,  will  explain  to 
you  what  is  and  what  ought  to  be,  by  what  has  been ;  and  will 
supply  to  your  youth  all  the  riches  of  a  tried  experience.  This  it 
is,  which  will  qualify  you  to  penetrate  with  a  keen  glance  the 
actual  condition  of  the  church  ;  which  will  enable  you  to  perceive 
the  evils  against  which  you  have  been  forearmed ;  which  will 
place  you  on  your  guard  against  exaggerations,  hesitations,  and 
all  peculiar  and  individual  determinations,  to  which  your  heart 
exposes  you  ;  and  which,  in  the  midst  of  the  whirlwind  of  human 
opinions  by  which  you  are  encircled,  will  communicate  to  your 
convictions,  your  views  and  your  judgments,  that  perspicuity,  that 
erect  attitude  and  that  immovable  solidity,  for  which  you  will 
search  in  vain  in  your  own  selves. 

It  is  this  which  will  render  you  capable  of  discerning  good  and 
evil,  what  is  useful  from  what  is  injurious,  either  in  relation  to  the 
Christian  church  generally,  or  to  the  particular  flock,  which  the 
Chief  has  placed  under  your  direction ;  which  will  put  you  in  a 
condition  to  keep  a  reckoning  of  times,  places  and  circumstances, 
and  which  Avill  clearly  discover  to  you  the  end  which  you  should 
propose  in  your  career,  the  proper  means  of  attaining  it,  and  will 
impart  to  your  ministry  a  real  and  enduring  usefulness. 

It  is  this  which  will  assist,  you  to  avoid  those  rocks  against 
which  —alas  !  we  have  too  many  examples — the  purest  zeal,  when 
it  is  unenlightened  by  knowledge,  is  liable  to  dash  and  go  to 
pieces  ;  and  which,  impressing  upon  all  your  works  the  characters 
of  wisdom,  reflection  and  discernment,  will  render  your  ministry 
honorable  even  in  the  eyes  of  the  world. 

It  is  this  which  will  give  you  those  qualifications  so  indispensa- 
ble in  a  Christian  minister,  and  so  rarely  found  in  combination ; 
largeness  without  latitudinarianism  ;  an  exclusive  snbmission  to 
the  word  \vithout  bigotry;  and  which,  rendering  your  convictions 
at  the  same  time  profound  and  expansive,  strengthening  your 
spirit,  and  enlarging  your  heart,  will  permit  you  to  throw  wide 
open  the  arms  of  charity  and  embrace  all  your  brethren  without 
leading  you  astray  from  the  isolated  focus  of  truth,  and  the  unas- 
sailable central  point  of  faith. 

The  knowledge-  which  emanates  from  God  will  forearm  you 
against  that  sad  formalism  which  so  often  infects  the  evangelical 
minister,  and  transforms  the  services  of  Jesus  Christ  into  a  sordid 
trade.  True  knowledge  will  ever  call  back  spirit,  thought  and 
life,  in  all  your  reflections  and  in  all  your  works.  It  wiU  Jiot  suf- 
fer your  intellect  to  become  a  thing  of  manoeuvre.  It  will  con- 
stantly recall  the  truth,  and  the  Spirit  of  God  should  be  combined 
with  every  affair  of  human  life,  the  breath  from  on  high  with 
those  elements  which  the  earth  presents.  It  wfll  recall  to  you 
the  fact,  that  you  are  of  the  number  of  "  wise  men."  It  will 
make  head  against  everything  which  could  tend  to  your  ruin, 
and  as  the  organ  of  God,  will  prevent  your  intellectual  perceptions 
from  growing  dull,  and  your  spirit  from  yielding  to  habits  of  slug- 
gishness. 

The  knowledge  which  emanates  from  God  will  save  you  from 

9 


194  FAITH  AND  KNOWLEDGE. 

rationalism.  Why  do  so  many  young  intellects  plunge  themselves 
into  that  heresy,  and  run  with  such  avidity  through  all  its  various 
stages  ?  Simply  because  they  thinli  to  find  in  it  food  for  their  in- 
tellect and  their  reason.  Vain  attempts!  For  meanwhile  their 
heart  is  drying  uii,  their  reason  degrading  itself,  and  their  intellect 
is  making  to  itself  more  straitened  limits.  It  is  Christian  know- 
ledge alone  Avhich  holds  in  reserve  all  that  of  which  their  vague 
desires,  sometimes  the  offspring  of  pride,  but  often  of  generosity, 
are  in  quest.  To  that  knowledge,  young  Levites,  address  your 
inquiries.  She  has  somewhat  to  answer  from  her  oracle.  Seek 
not  in  the  wnsdom  of  a  day  that  which  God  offers  you  in  the  secret 
depths  of  His  eternity.  Knowledge  Avill  satisfy  all  your  wants. 
She  will  show  you  in  Christ  all  the  treasures  of  a  divine  wisdom. 
She  will  put  you  in  possession  of  a  light,  which  is  to  that  of  ra- 
tionalism what  the  sun  in  the  heavens  is  to  the  will-o'-the-wisp 
hovering  over  a  bog.  Then  discovering  at  once  the  meagerness 
of  all  the  erroneous  offspring  of  human  wisdom.,  and  the  grandeur 
of  the  manifestations  of  the  reason  of  God,  you  will  cry  out,  as 
did  the  first  of  theologians,  Augustine,  when,  after  having  long 
wandered  in  the  labyrinth  of  systems,  he  at  length  found  the  true 
divine  knowledge,  "  Alas !  too  slowly  have  I  learned  thee." 

The  knowledge  which  emanates  from  God  will  guard  you  against 
that  false  enthusiasm,  which,  entertaining  certain  sensations  with 
great  avidity,  or  tearing  away  certain  ideas  from  the  several  groups 
to  which  they  belong,  abandons  both  of  them  to  an  unbridled 
imagination,  "where  they  boil  and  ferment  until  they  break  out  into 
deplorable  excesses — sometimes  these  \vi\\  appear  in  theosophic 
speculations,  sometimes  in  the  disordered  efforts  of  a  vapory  spirit, 
and  sometimes  in  haughty  pretensions  to  gifts  and  commissions, 
which  no  longer  have  existence,  or  to  a  fantastic  condition  of  the 
church.  Theological  science  will  render  you  timely  service  in 
discovering  to  you  all  these  errors.  It  will  point  them  out  to  you 
in  ancient  times  along  with  the  sad  fruits  they  there  brought  forth. 
It  will  discover  to  you  their  intimate  connection  with  the  corrup- 
tion of  the  heart,  and  Avith  deadly  doctrines.  It  will  at  the  same 
time  enable  you  to  sift  the  good  from  the  evil  in  those  ancient 
dogmas,  and  thus  furnish  you  a  shelter  against  a  wonderful  con- 
tagion. 

The  knowledge  which  emanates  from  God  will  put  weapons  in 
your  hands  to  refute  the  vain  sophi-sms  of  the  times;  to  make 
successful  attacks  upon  specious  errors  ;  to  measure  weapons,  if 
it  be  necessary,  with  those  who  are  practised  in  the  use  of  arms 
of  the  intellect,  with  the  wise  in  employing  the  weapons  of  know- 
ledge— weapons,  as  we  have  already  remarked,  to  which  God 
has  not  assigned  the  office  of  changing  the  lieart,  but  Avhich  ne- 
vertheless can  often  remove  lamentable  prejudices,  and  thus  pre- 
pare the  way  for  that  joy  of  heaven,  the  conversion  of  a  sinner. 

But,  it  m.ay  be  a.sked,  is  it  required  of  us  to  prove  the  necessity 
of  knowledge  for  the  minister  of  Christ,  as  long  as  its  necessity  for 
every  disciple,  for  every  Christian,  ought  to  be  a  truth  of  gene- 
ral recognition  ? 


FAITH    AND    KNOWLEDGE.  195 

It  is  to  all  Avho  have  obtained  an  equal  faith  with  the  servants 
of  Jesus  Christ,  that  the  Apostle  Peter  addresses  the  exhortation, 
"  Add  to  your  faith  .  .  .  knowledge."  Doubtless  there  are  de- 
partments of  knowledge  which  are  not  absolutely  necessary  1^^ 
every  Christian,  although  it  is  very  desirable  for  all  to  be  pos- 
sessed of  them.  But  there  is  a  Christian  knowledge  in  which  all 
ought  to  be  making  constant  progress,  according  to  their  peculiar 
faculties  and  circumstances.  Is  not  this  demanded  of  those  who 
are  charged  with  teaching  the  natural  sciences  .'  And  why  should 
it  not  also  be  required  of  theologians,  who  are  studying  theology, 
that  is,  the  science  of  God,  of  that  God  "  who  is  above  all,  and 
through  all,  and  in  you  all?"  In  an  infected  district,  at  the  ap- 
proach of  a  formidable  pestilence,  all  seek  to  acquire  some  de- 
gree of  medical  knowledge.  And  should  not  the  science  which 
treats  of  the  remedy  by  which  man  can  escape  eternal  death,  be 
regarded  of  sufficient  magnitude  and  importance  in  the  ej'-es  of 
you  all  to  deserve  your  earnest  application  ?  And  where  more 
important  than  for  you,  ministers  of  Christ  ? 

What  we  have  said  will  suffice,  we  trust,  to  demonstrate  to  all 
who  will  give  it  their  serious  attention,  the  necessity  of  not  sepa- 
rating faith  from  knowledge,  theology  from  piety,  the  shepherd 
from  the  teacher;  and  we  have  at  the  same  time  contributed  to 
unfold  one  of  the  causes  of  the  institution  of  this  Theological 
School,  both  to  those  who,  overlooking  faith,  speak  only  of 
knowledge,  and  to  those  who,  overlooking  knowledge,  speak 
only  of  faith. 

To  study,  then,  my  young  friends,  and  to  prayer :  to  prayer  and 
to  study  !  Let  prayer  first  acquire  for  us  the  gift  of  the  Spirit  of 
God.  Let  us  abase  ourselves  by  true  humility,  before  elevating 
ourselves  by  reflection  and  knowledge  :  for  "  if  any  man  think- 
eth  that  he  knoweth  anything,  he  knoweth  nothing  yet  as  he 
ought  to  know."  Like  the  air  vehicles  invented  by  the  wisdom 
of  man,  we  must  first  exhaust  ourselves,  before  we  will  be  able  to 
mount  into  the  elevated  mansions  of  knowledge  and  contempla- 
tion. 

Let  faith  be  the  key  with  which  we  approach  the  treasure,  for 
the  possession  of  which  we  are  .striving.  For  faith  enables  us  to 
imderstand  what  the  human  intellect  never  could  discover.  The 
life  which  comes  from  God  explains  what  meditation  could  never 
unfold.  Faith  is  the  eye  with  which  we  ought  to  be  furnished, 
in  order  to  penetrate  into  that  unknown  world  of  divine  things 
which  is  the  domain  of  theology.  Faith  is  the  true  organ  of  the 
knowledge  of  God.  It  enables  us  to  see  the  invisible,  to  compre- 
hend the  incomprehensible.  "  For  what  man  knoweth  the  things 
of  a  man  save  the  spirit  of  man,  which  is  in  him  ?  Now  the 
things  of  God  knoweth  no  man,  but  the  Spirit  of  God.  Now  we 
have  received,  not  the  .spirit  of  the  world,  but  the  Spirit  which 
is  of  God  :  that  we  might  know  the  things  that  are  freely  given 
to  us  of  God." 

One  thing  more.  Let  holiness,  let  a  life  and  conversation  truly 
Christian,  give  us  an  intellectual  perception,  which  can  only  be 


196  FAITH    AND    KNOWLEDGE, 

obtained  with  them.  For,  Avhat  is  it  that  beclouds  our  spirit  and 
darkens  our  understanding,  unless  it  be  sin  ?  Lift  the  veil,  and  you 
will  see.  The  more  dead  you  are  to  sin,  the  more  keen  will  be 
your  eye,  the  more  luminous  your  knowledge,  and  the  more  ex- 
panded your  conceptions.  Every  Christian  work,  every  self-re- 
nunciation, is  not  only  a  step  in  sanctification,  but  also  one  in 
knowledge  and  in  theology.  If  the  angels  know'more  than  we,  it 
is  because  they  are  purer  than  ourselves.  Darkness — that  is  sin : 
light— that  is  holiness.  Let  us  press  on,  then,  toward  the  light, 
in  order  to  know  Him  who  is  light.  "  We  shall  see  Him  as  He  is ; 
and  every  man  that  hath  this  hope  in  him  purifieth  himself." 

Thus,  then,  disciples  in  the  knowledge  of  God,  we  speak  to 
you.  "  Pray,  believe,  be  holy  and  blameless."  But  allow  us  to 
add  to  this,  "  Work." 

Work,  then,  my  young  friends.  Examine  with  care  those  two 
mighty  instruments  of  sacred  theology,  the  Old  and  the  New  Tes- 
taments :  those  two  columns,  at  the  base  of  which  the  simple  seek 
protection,  and  which  even  to  the  experienced  and  far-sighted 
lose  their  mysterious  heads  afar  in  the  clouds  of  heaven. 

Review  "with  discrimination  all  the  facts,  the  teachings,  the 
theories,  the  truths  and  the  errors  which  history  records  for  us, 
and  even  all  the  glimmering  beams  which  philosophy  throws  upon 
the  domain  of  knowledge,  ever  holding  fast  with  an  unfailing  te- 
nacity to  the  thread,  which  is  the  conductor  of  our  holy  faith. 

Let  us  employ  our  intellect — explain,  distinguish,  and  re-exam- 
ine all  the  elements  which  science  offers  us.  Let  us  fathom  every 
point  of  doctrine,  considered  apart  and  by  itself:  let  us  sound  it  to 
its  deepest  signiticancy,  and  at  the  same  time  let  us  collect  all  the 
parts,  apprehend  their  several  relations  and  their  affinities,  admire 
their  proportion,  their  unity  and  their  magnificent  harmony. 

Let  us  by  sanctified  meditation  elevate  ourselves  above  the  im- 
mense field  which  stretches  before  us.  Let  us  consider  science  in 
all  its  phases.  Let  us  place  ourselves  ujDon  a  holy  mountain, 
from  which  we  may  discover  all  the  country,  which  the  Almighty 
has  given  us  to  conquer  and  possess.  Let  us  trim  our  sails  upon 
the  stream,  and,  if  needs  be,  trace  the  current  in  all  its  windings, 
re-mounting  at  one  time  to  its  source,  and  at  another,  following  it 
to  the  end  of  its  journey.  Let  us  distinguish  the  primitive  from 
the  tributary  M-aters,  the  principal  from  the  accessory  branches. 
Let  us  examme  the  marsh  in  which  its  pure  water  is  defiled,  be- 
cause the  original  impulse  of  the  current  fails.  Let  us  contem- 
plate it  when  it  glides  sweetly  v/ith  its  fertile  Avaters  under  the 
banks  that  are  enriched  with  its  gifts,  and  when  it  casts  itself 
headlong  with  the  roar  of  breaking  waves.  Let  us  study  the  tribu- 
taries, which  bring  to  it  their  strange  waters,  and  the  various  soils 
over  which  it  rolls  its  waves,  that  we  may  clearly  apprehend  the 
elements  which  it  imprints  upon  them.  Of  all  these  constituents 
is  our  present  science  formed  ;  weighing  all  influences,  and  dis- 
cerning all  combinations,  for  the  purpose  of  disengaging  the  Chris- 
tian system,  and  constructing  a  sacred  theology,  which  is  the 
highest  human  science,  because  it  is  the  science  of  God. 


FAITH    AND    KNOAVLEDGE.  197 

Observe,  my  young  friends,  the  fervor  with  which  those  apply 
themselves  who  are  studying  either  the  material  body  of  man,  or 
his  legislations,  or  the  natural  sciences.  Students  in  theology, 
know  and  rest  assured  that  you  possess  a  still  more  beautiful 
field.  Let  the  zeal  of  your  contemporaries  for  the  works  of  their 
vocation  make  you  enter  again  into  yourselves,  and  inspire  you 
with  a  new  ardor ;  yours  is  the  study  of  God  and  man.  Think  of 
these  things. 

Take  then  this  science,  which  is  calling  your  attention,  from 
the  humiliating  state  into  which  she  is  fallen.  Restore  it  to  its 
primitive  greatness.  Be  filled  with  an  holy  jealousy  for  its  ad- 
vancement ;  for  upon  whose  aid  can  she  count,  if  not  upon  yours  ? 
After  reaching  that  point,  having  according  to  Scripture  become 
"  men  in  understanding,"  return  according  to  the  same  Scriptiure 
to  being  "  children  in  malice."  Let  our  knowledge  recall  us  to 
the  faith  of  the  simple  ;  but  to  a  faith  more  thoroughly  strength- 
ened, less  exposed  to  change,  and  which,  explored  through  all  its 
Avindings,  and  examined  in  all  its  phases,  can  be  defended  at  our 
hands  with  warmth,  and  distributed  with  wisdom,  as  sincere  milk 
to  babes,  and  as  strong  meat  to  them  that  are  of  full  age. 


THE 


VOICE  OF  THE  CHURCH  ONE, 


UNDER  ALL  THE  SUCCESSIVE  FORMS  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 


TRANSLATED  BY  REV.  R.  SMITH, 

OF    WATBRFORB,   N.    V. 


THE  VOICE  OF  THE  CHURCH  ONE. 


A  DISCOURSE,  PRONOUNCED   AT  THE    OPENING  OF  THE 
THEOLOGICAL  SCHOOL  AT  GENEVA. 


What  astonishmg  labors — what  untiring  activities — what  varied 
efforts,  do  men  employ  on  earth  !  But  time  passes  its  level,  for 
the  most  part,  over  their  productions  ;  while  they  imagine  them- 
selves to  he  building  a  tower  which  shall  reach  to  the  heavens, 
their  proud  works  are  confounded,  after  a  few  generations,  with 
the  sands  of  the  desert. 

There  is  nothing  stable  here,  but  Christianity.  That  alone  is 
immovable,  like  its  Author.  It  is  this  rock  against  which  have 
broken,  and  are  still  breaking,  waves  ever  new,  without  being 
able  to  shake  it. 

If,  then,  there  is  any  one  who  Avishes  to  give  stability  to  his 
work  on  earth,  let  him  connect  it  with  Religion  :  it  will  receive 
from  this  connection  an  impress  of  immortality 

I  am  aware,. gentlemen,  that  these  are  truths  not  generally  re- 
cognized among  men.  There  are  two  prevailing  errors  on  this 
subject.  There  arc  those  who  find  nothing  inichangeable  even  in 
the  essence  of  Christianity.  "  The  Christian  doctrine,"  say  they, 
"  is  only  a  particular  development  of  the  religious  sentiment.  This 
form  has  succeeded  to  a  previous  one,  and  will,  in  turn,  be  suc- 
ceeded by  another.  The  Religion  of  Christ  sprang  necessarily 
out  of  the  state  of  humanity  in  the  time  of  the  Cscsars,  as  a  tree 
in  Spring  produces  buds  and  flowers."  Singular  error  of  Ration- 
alism; but  which  history  refutes  in  the  clearest  manner.  History 
shows  that  Christianity  was  not  in  accordance  with  the  directions 
of  the  human  mind,  at  the  time  it  appeared,  but  in  direct  opposi- 
tion to  them.  The  wisdom  of  the  world  did  not  give  Christianity 
birth ; — it  sought  to  crush  it.  Christianity  was  not  the  child  of 
the  times ;  it  was,  on  the  contrary,  its  adversary  and  regenerator  : 
and  as  it  was  not  from  the  dust  of  the  earth  that  this  precious 
fruit  sprang,  it  cannot  of  course  return  thither  again.  Then  did  the 
Heavens  give  a  treasure  to  the  world,  which  successive  genera- 
tions ought  to  transmit  uncorrupted  from  hand  to  hand.  This  is 
the  treasure  which  we  have  received  ;  which  -w'e  arc  to  hold  with 
fear  and  reverence  in  earthen  vessels  ;  and  we,  in  turn,  must  trans- 
mit it  to  our  posterity,  still  unchanged  and  unchangeable  amongst 
9* 


202  THE  VOICE  OF  THE  CHURCH." 

millions  of  men,  "until  the  Heavens  and  the  earth  flee  away, and 
there  is  found  no  more  place  for  them." 

But  if  we  encounter,  on  the  one  hand,  the  triflers  with  Christi- 
anity, we  meet,  on  the  other,  with  those  who  would  give  to  it 
a  uniformity  of  appearance  in  all  ages.  There  is  something,  un- 
doubtedly, which  never  changes  in  Christianity,  and  that  is  its 
essence ;  but  there  is  something  also,  which  does  change,  and 
that  is  its  appearance  :  and  it  is  for  want  of  properly  vinderstand- 
ing  this  distinction,  that  so  many  have  erred  in  regard  to  the  in- 
variableness  of  Christ's  religion.  A  man  changes  his  appearance 
at  different  ages  of  his  life  :  his  essence,  never : — he  is  still  the 
same  man. 

The  Christian  Religion,  at  the  time  it  came  from  heaven,  was 
under  the  necessity,  as  is  everything  else  in  this  world,  of  cloth- 
ing itself  in  a  human  form.  The  external  circumstances  of  differ- 
ent epochs  must  exercise  an  influence  upon  the  successive  de- 
velopments of  Christian  truth.  To  such  a  form  must  succeed 
such  another ;  nor  could  these  forms  be  things  altogether  indif- 
ferent. Some  have  been  better  than  others ;  but  the  same  essen- 
tial verities  have  been  found  in  all  past  varieties,  and  will  be,  in 
all  which  are  to  come. 

Gentlemen — the  work  in  which  we  are  engaged,  and  of  which 
I  am  to  give  you  some  account  to-day,  is,  in  itself,  a  feeble,  an 
humble  work  ;  but  here  is  its  glory,  that  it  belongs  to  the  work 
of  eternity.  If  we  attach  ourselves  to  that  which  belongs  to  the 
appearance  of  Religion  only,  we  can  have  no  security  for  that 
which  we  labor  to  defend.  The  first  revolution  of  society  would 
sweep  our  work  to  the  tomb.  But  if  we  address  ourselves  to 
the  essence  of  Christianity,  the  cause  to  which  we  devote  our- 
selves partakes  of  the  perpetuity  of  the  work  of  God.  We  may 
fail ;  and  being  mortal,  we  shall  fail ;  our  school  may  fail ;  but 
the  cause  to  which  it  is  devoted  shall  not  fail,  neither  in  this 
place,  nor  in  all  the  earth.  To  that  cause,  according  to  the  an- 
cient oracle,  "  the  gathering  of  the  people  shall  be."  Yes,  Gen- 
tlemen, here  lies  the  foundation  of  all  our  hopes  ;  it  is  this  which, 
by  the  grace  of  God,  shall  animate  us  in  all  our  difficulties  and 
trials :  and  it  will  be  worth  our  pains  to  explain  and  defend,  on 
the  present  occasion,  this  remarkable  characteristic  of  the  Reli- 
gion of  Jesus  Christ — The  invar iableness  of  its  doctrines,  under  dif- 
ferent forms  ;  or,  The  voice  of  the  Church  one  and  the  same,  in  ail 
ages. 

If  we  search  in  the  different  periods  of  history  for  the  human 
fornas  in  which  the  truth  of  God  has  been  clothed,  we  shall  find 
a  great  number.  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  to  bring  them  together 
— to  reunite  and  amass  them.  We  shall  obtain  thus,  in  the  last ' 
synthesis,  four  periods,  or  principal  forms  of  Christianity. — The 
first  is  the  primitive,  or  the  form  of  Life ;  the  second  is  the  form  of 
Dogma ;  the  third,  the  Scholastic,  or,  the  form  of  the  School ;  and 

the  last,  the  form  of  the  Reformation. The  Church  of  Christ,  to 

use  a  Scriptural  illustration,  is  like  an  individual  man.    It  has 


THE   VOICE  OF  THE  CHURCH.  203 

its  youth,  its  maturity,  its  old  age — and  then,  if  we  might  so  say, 
it  has,  without  dying,  a  glorious  resurrection. 

Let  us  run  rapidly  over  these  four  forms — so  diverse,  I  had  al- 
most said,  so  opposite,  in  appearance — and  see  if  we  do  not  find, 
under  each  of  them,  the  same  unchangeable  truths. 

We  shall  hear  the  voice  of  Doctors.  Undoubtedly,  the  declara- 
tions of  no  one  single  man  are  sufficient  to  satisfy  us  what  was  the 
faith  of  the  Church  ;  but  if,  on  examining  those  Doctors  Avho  lived 
in  countries  the  most  distant  from  each  other,  we  find,  amidst 
great  diversities  of  vieAvs,  some  doctrines  on  Avhich  they  are  all 
agreed,  shall  we  not  safely  conclude  that  these  doctrines  have  also 
been  those  of  all  the  Churcii  throughout  the  earth  .' 

What,  then,  are  the  points  on  which  to  direct  our  present  in- 
quiry .' 

All  Christianity,  as  well  as  all  religious  Philosophy,  has  respect, 
necessarily,  to  three  principal  points.  It  has  respect,  at  first,  to 
God;  and  then,  to  Man  ;  and  then,  to  the  relation  between  God 
and  man  ;  or,  the  scheme  adopted  by  Deity  to  restore  man  to  him- 
self, "which  is  Redemption. 

Let  us  now  see  what  the  voice  of  the  Church  has  taught  us,  on 
these  three  points,  in  the  different  periods  of  Christianity. — There 
is, 

I. THE    FORM  OF    LIFE. 

In  considering  this  form,  Ave  shall  omit  the  time  of  the  Apostles ; 
since  that  deserves  to  be  considered  by  itself.  The  primitive  form, 
according  to  our  plan,  commences  Avith  the  successors  of  the  Apos- 
tles, and  extends  to  the  time  of  Arius.  The  character  Avhich  dis- 
tinguishes it,  is  that  of  life.  The  truths  of  Religion  Avere  not  yet 
exhibited  Avith  that  precision  and  system  Avhicli  distinguished 
them  at  a  later  period.  The  essential  thing  was  the  life  Avhich 
results  from  these  truths,  when  jiroperly  received.  They  liA-edfor 
ChrJ.st,  in  the  midst  of  a  Avorld  of  idolatry  ;  they  died  for  Christ,  in 
the  arena  and  on  the  funeral  pile,  and  Avithout  much  discussing 
the  nature  of  his  person,  or  disputing  about  his  Avork.  Christiani- 
ty was  content  to  exist,  and  to  knoAv  and  profess  that  it  existed, 
Avithout  enunciating  and  classifying  all  the  parts  in  Avhich  that 
existence  consisted.  Just  as  a  man  is  satisfied  for  a  long  time  to 
have  and  enjoy  being,  Avithout  studying  and  explaining  in  Avhat 
that  behig  consists. 

Certain  Rationalistic  Doctors  strangely  infer  from  this  character 
of  the  primitive  form  of  Christianity,  that  the  Christian  truths  did 
not  then  exist,  and  that  because  there  Avas  no  dogmatism,  there 
Avere  therefore  no  doctrines.  But  to  reason  thus,  is  to  reason  as 
strangely  and  falsely  as  would  that  inexperienced  observer,  Avho 
sliould  maintain  that  the  essential  parts  of  a  human  being  did  not 
exist  until  the  man  had  made  a  precise  and  rational  analysis  of 
them. 

It  results  from  this  characteristic  also,  that  the  controversies  of 
this  period  turn  very  little  upon  dogmas.      The  differences  are  in 


204  THE  VOICE  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

tendencies  rather  than  doctrines.  We  shall  meet  with  families  pre- 
senting different  aspects,  rather  than  sects  maintaining  different 
doctrines.  Let  us  trace  these  families  a  little,  before  proceeding 
to  notice  the  doctrines  Avhich  they  all  agreed  to  proclaim. 

To  the  inspiration  of  the  Apostles  succeeded  the  simple  Chris- 
tianity of  the  Apostolic  Fathers.  It  would  seem  that  the  ordinary 
course  of  nature  had  in  this  case  been  reversed,  and  that  the  in- 
genuousness and  simplicity  of  infancy  had  followed  the  strength 
and  maturity  of  the  full-grown  man.  The  Church,  under  the 
instruction  of  her  Ignatius,  her  Polycarp,  and  many  other  faithful 
disciples,  lived  under  the  great  idea  of  the  speedy  return  of  Jesus 
Christ :  andbehold  the  summary  of  her  faith  !  "  A  new  creation  must 
he  accomplished  in  Immanitij,  before  the  arrival  of  that  solemn  day." 
"  There  are,"  says  Barnabas, "  three  constitutions,  or  three  economies 
of  the  Lord  ; — the  hope,  of  life  (the  Old  Testament),  and  the  commence- 
ment of  life  (the  New  Testament),  and  the  consummation  of  life  (the 
Kingdom  of  heaven)." 

But  by  little  and  little  this  direction  towards' the  heavens  seems 
to  decline  in  the  Church.  A  generation  appears,  which  does  not 
so  deeply  penetrate  the  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ.  They  gather  curi- 
ous traditions  concerning  this  terrestrial  appearing  of  Christ. 
Some  carnal  Jews,  who  are  still  ex2:)ecting  a  Messiah  altogether 
human,  brought  in  the  grossest  views  under  a  Christian  name.  It 
seemed  as  if  the  Church  was  fatigued  with  her  exalted  flight  and 
was  beginning  to  seek  the  earth.  Let  us  not  be  astonished  at  this. 
One  always  experiences  languor  and  drowsiness  after  long  watch- 
ing and  care. 

But  there  now  appeared  on  the  limits  of  Christianity,  and  al- 
most beyond  it,  a  tendency  directly  the  opposite  of  this.  Oriental 
philosophy  attempts  to  unite  itself  with  the  Religion  of  Jesus.  It 
seeks  to  take  away  from  Religion  its  practical  character,  and  to 
convert  it  into  systems,  which  lose  themselves  in  the  clouds. 
Gnosticism  substituted  for  a  salutary  faith,  a  fantastic  ^cosmogony, 
by  means  of  which  it  proposed  to  explain  that  which  is  inexplica- 
ble, and  to  cultivate  a  theosophy»  which  would  procure  for  man 
on  earth  the  sublime  contemplations  of  Heaven.  The  West  recoils 
before  these  adventurous  vagaries  of  the  East.  In  Proconsular 
Africa,  and  among  the  Gauls,  the  Tertullians  and  the  Irenccuses 
arise.  These  offer  a  Christianity  simple,  positive,  historical — and 
propose  to  men  that  faith  which  nourishes  alike  the  little  and  the 
great.  Regarding  philosophy  as  the  source  of  Gnosticism,  they 
begin  to  view  with  distrust  the  wisdom  and  scientific  culture  of 
the  Greeks. 

But  this  exclusive  simplicity  has  also  its  dangers.  The  cultivat- 
ed Pagans,  not  finding  in  the  Christianity  offered  them,  anything 
which  responds  to  their  intellectual  taste,  remain  in  the  worship 
of  their  false  Gods,  or  precipitately  cast  themselves  into  the  adven- 
turous systems  of  the  Gnostics.  Alexandria — situated  on  the  bor- 
ders of  the  Nile,  between  the  East  and  West— remarks  this  :  Alex- 
andria, the  grand  mart  of  the  Sciences — where  the  gospel  is  said 
to  have  been  carried  by  the  Apostle  Mark — undertakes  to  medi- 


THE  VOICE  OF  THE  CHURCH.  205 

ate  between  these'two  tendencies  of  man,  into  which  the  world 
was  divided.  Panta?nus,  Clement,  and  Origen,  found  o.  Christian 
Science,  and  in  that  approach  the  East ;  bnt  they  found  it  on 
the  ScnpHtres,  and  in  that  are  nearer  to  the  West  :■ — '{yvomts  aXnOU'n — 
true  Scieiice.)  Alas,  it  was  not  wholly  so:  and  these  Doctors,  al- 
though they  did  not  abandon  the  fundamental  principles  of  Chris- 
tianity, incorporated  in  their  system  the  insidious  germs  of  the  two 
great  heresies,  which  have  since  troubled  a  subsequent  epoch  and 
all  the  epochs.* 

.  -The  School  of  Alexandria,  by  little  and  little,  supplanted  Gnosti- 
cism. But  against  that,  in  turn,  are  directed  the  arms  of  the  severe 
and  practical  School  of  the  west.  A  contest  of  a  remarkable  char- 
acter arises  between  these  two  churches,  or  Schools  rather,  in  the 
third  century.  But  the  opposite  tendencies  seem  to  balance  each 
other,  and  thus  contribute  to  the  pro.sperity  of  Religion.  Alexan- 
dria originates  a  Theological  spirit  in  the  church.  She  begins  to 
.systematize,  to  elucidate  her  doctrines.  She  prevents  a  gross 
Ant/iropomnrp/i  is?n  from  mingling  with  the  celestial  doctrines  of  Jesits 
Christ.  The  West  is  always  bringing  back  to  the  simple  and  lite- 
ral word  of  Scripture.  It  calls  to  mind  constantly,  that  Christianity 
is  a  thing,  to  be  felt,  proved  in  the  heart,  and  exhibited  in  the  life. 
It  prevents  the  changing  of  tliese  positive  and  salutary  doctrines  for 
vain  aiul  fantastic  speculations. 

Such,  Gentlemen,  are  some  of  the  successive  phases  of  our 
primitive  form  of  Christianity.  But  in  the  midst  of  all  a  spirit  of 
life  still  animates  the  Church.  It  is  the  age  of  her  youth.  These 
Christians,  delivered  from  the  sins  of  Paganism,  feel  the  transform- 
ing influence  of  the  gospel,  ^vith  more  energy,  from  being  able  to 
compare  Avhat  it  has  made  them,  and  what  they  were  before. 
This  conflict  with  the  world  reminds  them  constantly  of  their  voca- 
tion as  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ.  Everything  in  the  Church  now 
lives — everything  moves.  She  aspires  to  the  skies  ;  she  seems  half- 
way ascended  ;  and  although  the  age  of  gold  must  be  reserved  for 
"  the  new  heaven  and  the  new  earth,"  which  she  is  expecting, 
the  Christian  Church  presents,  in  these  days  of  her  youth  and  life, 
traits  of  beauty,  that  are  absolutely  celestial. 

And  what  are  the  doctrines,  which  are  i)rofessed  by  this  new 
people,  which  the  breath  of  the  Almighty  has  created  in  the  earth  .' 
They  recognize  one  living  and  true  God.  They  worship  in  God, 
not  only  the  principle  of  all  things  {The  Father),  but  the  Redeemer 
also  (37(e  Son),  and  the  sanctifier  of  fallen  humanity  ( T/fe  Holy 
Spirit).  They  believed  that  the  same  God,  who  created  man  in 
righteoitsness,  has  redeemed  him  from  sin,  and  does  not  cease  to 
sanctify  him  until  he  comes  to  everlasting  life.  They  knew  no- 
thing of  the  strange  error,  by  which  some  would  rob  God  of  the 
woric  and  glory  of  Redemption,  by  giving  it  to  a  creature.  , 

The  idea  of  a  Trinity  in  the  Godhead  discovers  itself  from  the 
very  beginning  of  the  primitive  epoch,  and  never  ceases  to  be  pro- 
claimed, in  a  manner  the  most  distinct.  How  does  the  voice  of 
these  early  soldiers  of  the  Cross  confound  the  bold  pretensions  of 
modern  times  !     Hear  it :    Clement  of  Rome,  a  disciple  of  Paul, 

*  Arianism  and  Pelagianism. 


206  THE  VOICE  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

renders  glory  to  God  in  the  following  profession, — "  One  God,  one 
Christ,  one  Spirit  of  Grace :"  while  Poiycarp,  a  disciple  of  John, 
dying  in  the  midst  of  the  flames,  ascribes  eternal  glory  "  to  the 
father,  to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost." 

Justin  Martyr,  a  converted  sage,  who,  in  the  time  of  the  Anto- 
nines,  poured  out  his  blood  for  the  cause  of  Christ,  proclaims, 
"  a  unity  in  Trinity." — -Theophilus,  Bishop  of  Antioch,  about  the 
same  time,  and  in  a  manner  still  more  explicit,  professes  "  The 
Holy  Trinity." 

A  little  afterwards,  we  find  Tertullian,  a  lawyer  of  Africa,  now 
become  a  pa.stor  of  God's  flock,  proclaiming  "  a  Trinity  of  one 
Divine  Being,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit !"  and  in 
another  place — "  Let  us  guard  well  the  sacrament  of  our  econo- 
my, '  a  unity  in  Trinity,'  recognizing  //tree,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and 
the  Holy  Ghost. — One  in  substance,  one  in  estate,  and  one  in 
power,  became  one  God."* 

And  let  us  hear  a  Bishop  of  a  city  near  our  own,  a  city  trampled 
by  the  fury  of  Christ's  enemies  in  his  day,  and  by  other  furies  in 
our  own — let  us  hear  Tren^eus,  of  Lyons,  Avho  had  left  the  enlight- 
ened shores  of  Asia  to  bear  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  to  the 
barbarous  Gauls — how  does  he  defend  the  great  doctrine  of  God 
manifest  in  the  flesh  !  "  Christ,"  says  he,  "  united  in  himself  God  and 
man  :  if  man  had  not  vanquished  the  enemy  of  man  (i.  e.  the 
Devil),  he  had  not  been  properly  vanquished  :  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  if  God  had  not  wrought  salvation,  we  could  never  have 
been  assured  of  possessing  it." 

We  have  thus  passed,  as  yet,  only  some  few  scores  of  years, 
from  the  death  of  the  Apostles,  and  we  have  found  proclaimed  by 
so  many  illustrious  Doctors,  this  doctrine  of  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost,  a  doctrine  of  which  Christ  designed  to  establish  a 
perpetual  monument  in  the  Church  by  the  institution  of  Bap- 
tism. The  first  of  all  the  Church's  Teachers  defend  this  most 
consoling  doctrine  of  God  become  Man.  The  further  we  advance, 
the  more  do  these  testimonies  increase :  throughout,  is  most  deep- 
ly engraven,  both  in  the  sentiments  and  worship  of  God's  people, 
the  eternal  Divinity  of  the  Son  of  God.  Even  one  of  the  wisest  of 
the  Heathen  sages  could  say  of  them,  "  These  Christians  meet  to- 
gether, to  sing  hymns  to  Christ,  as  being  God." — But  do  we  inquire 
now,  what  these  Christians  of  the  primitive  epoch  believed  con- 
cerning man  1  They  did  not  imagine,  with  certain  Pagans  and  cer- 
tain modern  Doctors,  that  all  evil  proceeds  from  natural  organiza- 
tion in  man,  and  that  this  evil  is  not  in  opposition  to  the  holiness 

of  God  ! Their  sentiment  was,  that  the  first  man,  having,  by 

disobedience,  separated  his  will  from  the  will  of  God,  human  na- 
ture has  been  abandoned  to  itself,  and  thus  separated  from  God, 
has  fallen  under  the  dominion  of  evil. 

Let  us  approach,  for  proof,  the  college  of  the  Apostles  :  let  us 

*  JVbie  hy  the  Translator. — The  original  authorities  are  referred  to,  and 
printed  in  full,  in  the  notes  to  Dr.  Merle's  pamphlet;  but  it  has  not  been 
deemed  necessary  to  insert  them  here. 


THE  VOICE  OF  THE  CHURCH.  207 

interrogate  those  who  either  surrounded  or  succeeded  them.  Bar- 
nabas, the  companion  of  Paul,  has  these  words :  "  Before  we  be- 
lieved, the  habitation  of  our  hearts  was  full  of  corruption  and  sin  ; 
filled  with  idolatry,  and  a  dwelling-place  of  demons."  Justin, 
who  had  sought  in  vain,  in  all  philosophy,  a  key  to  the  history  of 
man,  finds  it,  at  length,  in  the  fall  of  Adam,  effected  by  the  seduc- 
tions of  Satan  concealed  in  the  form  of  a  serpent.  (See  his  Dia- 
logue with  Trypho,  p.  306.) 

The  first  man,  according  to  the  simple  and  practical  Irenmus,  is 
"  like  the  case  of  one  who,  being  incarcerated,  propagates  a  race 
in  prison."  The  profound  Tertullian  has  already  called  the  cor- 
ruption of  human  nature  "  original  sin."  ( Vithini  Urigmis.)  "  The 
first  man,"  says  he,  '•  infected  the  species  descending  from  him, 
and  rendered  them  'partakers  of  his  condemnation."  Cyprian, 
Bishop  of  Carthage,  understands  the  origin  of  sin  in  the  same  way. 
"  The  infant,  at  birth,  has  no  sin,"  says  he,  "  unless  it  be,  in  that 
it  is  descended,  according  to  the  flesh,  from  Adam,  and  has,  by 
its  birth,  contracted  the  contagion  of  death." 

And  now,  if  we  betake  ourselves  to  the  school  of  Alexandria 
and  think  to  hear  something  more  flattering  to  our  pride  from  these 
philosophical  Theologians,  even  there  we  shall  learn  from  Origen, 
that  "  Adam  turned  from  the  straight  way  of  Paradise,  to  take  the 
evU  ways  of  mortal  life."  In  consequence,  all  those  who,  de- 
scending from  him,  have  come  into  the  world,  are  also  turned 
out  of  the  way,  and  become,  like  him,  unprofitable."  "  Every 
man  is  corrupted  in  his  father  and  in  his  mother :  Jesus  Christ 
alone  was  born  pure  "  "  It  is  impossible  that  man,  since  his 
fall,  should  regard  God ;  he  must  be  subject,  at  first,  to  the  do- 
minion of  sin."  • 

Thus  Egypt,  as  well  as  Gaul,  and  Africa,  with  Asia,  alike  re- 
cognize man  as  a  being  fallen  and  impure. 

And  how  is  this  fallen  and  defiled  being  to  be  reconciled  to  a 
holy  God  .'  What  thought  the  Christians  of  this  primitive  epoch, 
of  the  means  by  which  God  saves .'  Let  us  interrogate  those 
again  who  surrounded  the  Apostles.  They  will  teach  us  those 
sacred  doctrines  of  Grace,  which  were  more  fully  explained  at  a 
later  period.  "  The  Son  of  God  has  suffered,"  says  Barnabas, "  that 
his  sufferings  might  give  us  life.  He  offered  in  sacrifice  for  us, 
the  vessel  of  his  spirit  (i  e.  his  bodij)."  Again,  "  Having  learned 
to  hope  in  the  name  of  Christ,  and  having  received  the  remission 
of  sins,  we  are  become  7ieio  men,  and  new-created."  Hermas — the 
same  perhaps  of  whom  Paul  speaks — (Rom.  xvi.  14) — says: 
"  Before  man  receives  the  name  of  a  child  of  God,  he  is  condemn- 
ed to  death  ;  but  when  this  seal  is  applied,  he  is  delivered  from 
death  and  passes  into  life."  "  The  law  of  God,"  says  Justin, 
"  pronounced  a  curse  upon  man,  inasmuch  as  he  could  not  fulfil 
it  in  all  its  extent.  (See  Deut.  xvii.  26.)  But  Christ  has  delivered 
us  from  this  curse,  in  bearing  it  on  our  behalf."  Do  Ave  speak 
differently  at  the  present  day  ? 

JrencBus  sees  in  circumcision  "  a  type  of  the  saving  blood  of 
Christ,  and  in  the  tree  of  life,  a  type  of  the  cross  of  Christ." 


208  THE  VOICE  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Elsewhere  he  declares  "  that  man  must  no  longer  seek  to  purify 
himself  by  sacrifices,  but  by  Christ's  blood  and  his  death."  The 
Paschal  Lamb,  according  to  him,  foreshadowed  Christ,  "  who 
saves  those  that  believe  in  him,  by  the  sprinkling  of  his  blood  ;" 
and  the  two  goats — of  which  the  one  was  sent  away  into  the 
wilderness,  and  the  other  sacrificed  to  God — were  a  rejoresentation 
of  the  two-fold  coming  of  Christ,  the  one  for  death,  and  the 
other  for  glory.  He  opposes  to  the  disobedience  of  Adam,  the 
obedience  of  Christ.  "  Christ  reconciles  the  Father  to  us,"  says 
he,  "  in  replacing,  by  his  obedience,  the  disobedience  of  the  first 
man  ;"  and,  pursuing  his  comparison  of  a  man  cast  into  prison  by 
sin,  and  into  captivity  to  the  Devil,  declares  that  "  Christ  has  paid 
the  ransom  necessary  for  deliverance  from  this  captivity." 

In  the  same  v'ay  does  Origen  represent  the  death  of  Christ  as 
"  that  power  which  delivers  man  from  sin."  Indeed,  the  entire 
Church  regards  the  sufferings  of  the  Lamb  of  God  as  the  means 
by  which  the  way  to  the  Father  has  been  re-opened  to  the  children 
of  men.  It  is  faith  which  renders  man  a  partaker  of  this  deliver- 
ance, and  this  comnumicates,  at  the  same  time,  a  divine  life. 
"  Called  by  the  grace  of  God,"  says  Clement  of  Rome,  "  we  are 
justified — not  by  ourselves,  not  by  our  wisdom  or  goodness,  or 
any  Avorks  which  we  have  wrought  in  the  sanctity  of  our  hearts  ; 
but  by /a/M,  according  to  which  a  sovereign  God  has  justified 
men  in  all  time.  Do  we  live  at  ease,  then,  on  that  account.'  Do 
we  cease  to  do  good  works  .'  Far  from  it.  We  do  good  works 
with  joy — even  as  God  for  ever  works,  and  rejoices  in  his  activity." 

Behold,  then,  this  holy  Church  of  the  primitive  epoch.  Hear 
how  she  speaks  to  us  from  the  bosom  of  her  griefs,  and,  as  it 
were,  from  the  height  of  the  scaffolds  where  she  suffered.  She 
confesses  her  miseries,  and  embracing  the  knees  of  Jesus,  calls 
him  her  "  Saviour  and  her  God."  Who  can  misunderstand  the 
profound  accents  of  her  sincere  piety  .'  IIow  pitiable  the  occupa- 
tion of  those  who  would  despoil  her  of  these  white  robes,  and 
clothe  her  with  the  tattered  garments  of  a  modern  Infidelity ! 
But  this  profane  effort  is>  in  the  meantime,  a  homage  rendered  to 
the  Church — the  first  Unitarians  had  recourse  to  the  same  ex- 
pedient. 

Vain  are  all  these  devices  ;  for  whoever  will  listen,  shall  always 
hear  the  voice  of  the  primitive  Church  proclaiming,  with  one 
accord,  these  unchangeable  truths. 

II. — THE    FORM    OF   DOGMA. 

In  our  view  of  the  primitive  epoch  of  the  Church — although 
we  have  gathered  only  here  and  there  a  sheaf  from  the  vast  har- 
vest— we  have  already  extended  ourselves  beyond  the  proper 
limits  of  this  discourse.  We  have  done  so,  because  it  is  in  this 
age  alone  that  our  adversaries  are  wont  to  hazard  the  controversy. 
They  despair  of  other  periods;  and  they  make  loud  and  violent 
complaints,  if  the  faith,  which  they  cannot  but  acknowledge,  is 
to  be  found  in  them.     We  will  not,  therefore,  greatly  strive  for  a 


THE  VOICE  OF  THE  CHURCH.  209 

field,  on  which  our  foes  proclaim  in  advance  that  they  are  van- 
quished and  must  abandon. 

This  epoch  opens  as  the  era  of  great  Doctors,  great  truths,  and 
great  heresies.  It  was  the  period  in  which  Christian  Theology — 
of  which  the  elements  had  been  preparing  in  a  preceding  epoch 
— was  carried,  by  illustrious  men  of  God,  to  its  highest  point  of 
elevation.  It  Avas  the  era  of  Athanasius,  of  Hilarij,  of  Gregory,  of 
Basil,  of  Ambrose,  of  Augustin,  and  of  Chrysostom ;  the  time  of  lofty 
spirits ;  the  age  mature  of  the  Church.  The  last  murders  of  the 
confessors  of  Christ  have  ceased — the  memorable  Council  of  Nice 
has  been  held — the  epoch  of  Life  is  finished — the  form  of  Dogma 
begins.  Not  that  there  was  no  longer  any  life  in  the  Church  ;  but 
that  the  characteristic  of  dogma  is  that  which  now  prevails.  Now 
man  loves  to  have  distinct  ideas  of  what  he  believes  ;  to  method- 
ize ;  to  render  reasons.  The  Church,  no  longer  obhged  to  struggle 
with  persecution  from  without,  has  more  room  to  occupy  herself 
with  that  which  is  within.  She  arranges  the  faith  which  she  has 
long  possessed. 

The  different  tendencies  of  a  former  age,  in  the  meantime,  de- 
velope  more  and  more ;  and,  by  a  remarkable  transformation, 
arrange  themselves  in  opposing  doctrines — ^justas  the  dispositions 
of  youth,  at  first  vague  and  indeterminate,  are  resolved  uito  dis- 
tinct characteristics,  in  the  mature  man.  The  two  great  heresies 
appear,  conducted  by  Arius  and  Pelagius ;  but  even  these  heresies 
became  the  means  which  God  uses  for  the  better  establishment  of 
the  truth.  The  doctrines  so  clearly  defined  by  the  Church  of  this 
period  will  now  be  faithfully  transmitted.  They  will  be  preserv- 
ed and  perpetuated  amidst  all  the  troubled  barbarism  of  succeed- 
ing times.  The  Dogmatic  form  shall  be,  by  divine  grace,  the 
shield  of  these  truths  in  days  of  coming  struggle  and  revolution, 
and  the  very  hammer  to  break  their  way  into  minds  of  hardened 
barbarism.  But  while,  in  order  to  recognize  truth  more  distinctly, 
they  divide  it  into  many  tninutice,  it  must  be  confessed  they  some- 
times seem  to  lose  sight  of  the  essence — the  life  itself. 

The  East  and  West  preserve,  in  the  meantime,  their  peculiar 
characteristics.  The  East  remains  the  country  of  lofty  specula- 
tions— the  West,  that  of  practical  qtiestions.  The  East  discourses 
concerning  God — the  West  occupies  itself  more  with  man.  The 
East  produces  an  Athanasius — the  West  a  Pelagius  and  an  Augus- 
tin.  But  both  in  the  one  country  and  in  the  other,  the  truth  is 
assailed,  and  obtains  distinguished  victories.  Having  ])assed  the 
time  of  its  youth,  the  Christian  doctrine,  like  the  just  man,  is  put 
to  trial,  but  was  not  to  prove  a  second  fall.  It  will  resist  seduc- 
tion ;  it  \v\\\  remain  firm. 

The  doctrine  concerning  God  was  first  expounded  now,  and  with 
great  clearness ;  because  it  was  the  first  u[)on  which  man  had 
dared  to  lay  a  menacing  hand.  Athanasim,  a  distinguished  Doctor 
of  Alexandria,  discovers,  in  the  profound  mystery  of  human  re- 
demption, the  necessity  of  the  eternal  Divinity  of  the  Redeemer. 
Earth  has  no  Saviour,  if  its  Saviour  be  not  God.  If  Athanasius  con- 
secrates his  life,  and  submits  to   so  many   exiles,  to   defend   the 


210  THE  VOICE  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

identity  of  substance  between  the  Father  and  the  Son,  it  is  not  that 
he  attaclies  so  great  vahie  to  a  dialectic  subtlety ;  no,  he  combats 
for  the  essence  of  Christianity  itself,  and  for  the  salvation  of  souls. 
Christianity  has  for  its  object  to  re-establish  man  in  communication 
with  God.  In  order  to  this,  there  must  be  a  Mediator.  "  But," 
said  Athanasius,  "  if  the  Son  of  God  be  different  in  essence  from 
God,  then  would  there  be  need  of  another  Mediator,  to  unite  him 
with  God.  He  alone  can  establish  a  real  communication  between 
God  and  his  creatures,  who  has  no  need  of  a  mediation  for  him- 
self— but  who  is  himself  ?i  part  of  the  Divine  essence.  No'w  such 
is  the  Son  of  God.  Were  he  a  creature — be  it  the  most  excellent 
and  exalted — he  would,  in  interposing  between  God  and  man,  in- 
stead of  uniting,  separate  them  one  from  another."  {Athan.  Ora- 
tio  contra  Arian.) 

But  let  us  hear  the  entire  Church  in  the  Symbols  of  her  faith. 
"  This  is  the  faith  universal,"  says  she,  "that  we  worship  one 
God  in  Trinity,  and  the  Trinity  in  unity — without  confounding  the 
Persons  or  dividing  the  Substance :  for  the  person  of  the  Father  is 
one  :  that  of  the  Son,  another,  and  that  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  ano- 
ther. But  the  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit,  are  one  same  Divinity — one 
equal  Glory — one  co-eternal  Majesty.  Such  as  is  the  Father,  such 
is  the  Son,  andsuchthe  Holy  Spirit.  The  Father  is  uncreated — the 
Son  is  uncreated — the  Spirit  is  uncreated  :  the  Father  is  God— the 
Son  is  God — the  Spirit  is  God;  but  at  the  same  time  there  are  not 
three  Gods,  but  one  God.  And  the  true  faith  is  : — We  believe  and 
confess  that  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  is  God  and 
man :  God,  of  the  substance  of  the  Father,  begotten  before  the 
world  began ;  and  man,  of  the  substance  of  the  mother,  born  in 
time — perfect  God  and  perfect  man — equal  to  the  Father  accord- 
ing to  his  Divinity — less  than  the  Father  according  to  humanity." 
{Athanasian  Creed.) 

A  controversy  of  sixty  years  (from  320  to  381)  was  necessary  to 
determine,  explain,  and  defend  this  doctrine  of  the  Divinity  of 
Christ. 

But  new  combats  now  commenced  to  determine  another  dogma. 
A  little  after  Athanasius  and  those  who  followed  with  him,  appear- 
ed another  Teacher  in  the  Church  who  seemed  to  have  received 
a  commission  to  explain  and  defend  the  true  doctrine  concerning 
Man.  This  was  Augustin.  Already,  indeed,  had  the  truth  on  this 
subject  been  believed  and  confessed  by  those  who  had  gone  before 
him.  "  By  the  sin  of  one  Adam,"  says  Hilary  of  Poidiers,  "  all  the 
human  race  has  sinned."  "  We  have  all  sinned  in  the  first  man," 
says  Ambrose.  "  In  him  human  nature  has  sinned."  But  it  was 
when  the  great  Doctor  of  the  West  arose  ;  he  under  whose  influ- 
ence were  to  be  found,  during  many  ages,  all  Avho  .should  have 
clear  ideas  of  truth ;  it  was  when  Augustin  appeared,  that  all  the 
depths  of  human   impotency  were  developed. 

This  man  had  abandoned  Manicheism,  then  Platonism — not  find- 
ing in  the  one  or  the  other  that  inward  peace  which  he  needed  in 
the  midst  of  life's  tempests — and  he  seized  with  avidity  on  the 
Gospel,  which  dissipated  his  doubts,  consoled  his  heart,  and  scat- 


THE  VOICE  OF  THE  CHURCH.  2ll 

tered  light  in  all  his  ways.  In  these  combats  with  sin  and  a  vain 
philosophy,  he  had  learned  to  recognize  iii  himself  vdl  the  corrup- 
tion of  the  human  heart;  and  here  is  the  chord  which  henceforth 
vibrates  in  all  his  instructions.  Pursued  at  once  by  the  sublime 
ideal  of  sanctity,  and  by  all  the  seductions  of  sensuality,  he  sees 
opened,  by  the  shock  of  these  conflicting  elements,  the  deep  pro- 
fundities of  his  own  heart — even  as  the  tempests  of  the  ocean  will 
sometimes  uncover  the  depths  of  the  abyss.  To  perfect  his  op- 
portunities, he  now  comes  in  contact  with  a  man,  who,  without 
ideal,  is  placed  in  easy  and  ordinary  circumstances  of  life,  and 
who  has  formed  thence,  the  most  preposterous  oiiinions  of^the 
morality  of  human  nature. 

August  in  enters  the  lists  with  Pelagius.  But  this  is  not  a  con- 
troversy between  two  men  alone  :  it  lies  between  priuciples — two 
leading  tendencies  of  the  human  mind,  which  have  appeared  in 
all  ages.  Augustin  sees  the  first  man  estranging  himself  from 
God  :  from  this  estrangement  proceeds  sin,  and  from  this,  the 
moral  disorder  of  all  humanity.  Human  nature,  according  to  him, 
is  a  mass  of  ruin  {31assa  pcrditionis).  The  consequence,  as  well 
as  the  punishment  of  sin,  in  all  his  descendants,  is  the  obligation 
to  sua  also  (Obligatio  pcccati).  Man  has  lost  his  liberty,  and  his 
power  to  do  any  good  work.  He  can  no  more  have  anything, 
except  as  God  is  pleased  to  give  it  to  him.  If  some  come  to  have 
the  faith  of  the  Gospel,  while  others  do  not — the  reason  cannot  be 
found  in  man ;  since  all  are  equally  incapable  of  any  good  :  it  is 
to  be  found  in  special  act  of  God  alone — in  the  secret  counsels  of 
the  Almighty — in  an  election  of  grace.  After  a  controversy  of 
nearly  thirty  years — carried  on  in  Africa,  in  Italy,  and  in  Middle 
Gaul — the  truth  triumphs,  and  the  doctrine  of  the  total  inability  of 
man  remains  m  the  Church. 

In  the  same  spirit  was  the  doctrine  'of  grace  explained  and  en- 
forced by  these  great  minds  ;  and  this  brings  us  to  the  third  point, 
which  is  to  be  examined.  Already  had  it  been  said  by  the  excel- 
lent//i7«j-(/.-  "Redemption  is  given  gratuitously — not  according 
to  .the  merit  of  works,  but  according  to  the  will  of  the  giver — 
the  choice  of  Him  who  redeems  us."^ — "  In  this  consi.sts  the  grace 
of  God — says  Augustin — that  He  justifies,  not  by  our  righteousness, 
but  by  his  own."  But  he  insists  above  all,  that  the  idea  of  grace 
excludes  all  merit,  and  all  natural  disposition  in  man  to  receive 
salvation.  God  is  the  Alpha  and  Omega  with  him — the  beginning 
and  the  end  of  our  salvation.  "  That  which  God  begins  by  operat- 
ing— says  he — He  ends  by  co-operating  :  Commencing — He  ope- 
rates, that  we  might  be  willing — and  to  finish,  he  now  co-ope- 
rates with  those  who  have  the  will : —  "  He  that  gtorieth  let  him  glory 
in  the  Lord." 

Thus  is  the  Christian  science  greatly  advanced  in  this  era. 
The  doctrines  of  God,  of  man,  of  salvation,  which  the  teachers  of 
the  first  period  had  indeed  seen  in  the  Scriptures,  are  now  sound- 
ed with  greater  jirecision  and  more  profound  research.  Under 
the  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  Theology  advances;  for  there 
is,  gentlemen,  such  a  thing  as  progress,  even  in  Theology.     What 


212  THE  VOICE  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

shall  we  say  then  of  those,  Avho,  even  at  this  day,  would  persuade 
us  not  only  to  abandon  this  advance,  but  to  return  to  those  errors 
which  the  Church  has  long  since  rejected  ?  "  Leaving  the  princi- 
ples of  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  let  us  go  on  to  perfection." 

III. — THE   SCHOLASTIC    FORM. 

A  new  form  succeeds  to  that  which  has  supplanted  the  primi- 
tive. After  ages  of  darkness,  the  East  beheld  a  great  intellectual 
movement  in  the  eleventh  century.  This  form  has  been  called  the 
Scholastic  from  Schola — the  School.  The  School  seeks  to  separate 
itself  from  the  Church,  which  hath  hitherto  been  supreme — to  ob- 
tain action  and  authority,  independent  of  the  hierarchy.  Certain 
liberal-minded  men,  who  were  in  the  beginning  at  least  neither 
monks  nor  ecclesiastics,  determined  to  establish  schools  altogether 
distinct  from  those  which  had  hitherto  existed.  From  these 
schools  soon  arises  the  University  of  Paris,  the  mother  of  Scholas- 
tic Philosophy.  The  general  character  of  the  scholastic  form, 
then,  is  the  Spirit  of  the  Schools,  we  may  say,  of  tkeUniversity ,  or  of 
Science.  To  apply  philosophy  to  Christianity ;  to  reduce  Christian 
doctrines  to  systems ;  to  show  their  connections,  their  internal 
proofs,  and  to  measure  them  not  only  by  the  heart,  but  by  the  un* 
derstanding ;  such  is  the  tendency  of  the  Scholastic  form  of  Eeli- 
gion  :  so  that  if  the  first  era  may  be  called  the  form  of  life,  and 
the  second  that  of  doctrines — the  third  is  that  of  system.  There  is 
yet  life — there  are  yet  doctrines ;  but  that  which  prevails  is  the 
systematic.  It  was  then  that  each  Doctor  published  his  system — 
his  Summa  Theologies.  It  was  the  age  advanced  of  the  Church, 
which  naturally  succeeded  to  its  youth  and  manhood.  It  is  the 
age  which  loves  to  arrange  Avhat  it  had  before  collected.  It  medi- 
tates :  it  has  little  of  impulse,  but  more  of  reflection.  There  were 
indeed  men  of  great  force  in  this  middle  era ;  but  the  prevailing 
disposition  vi^as  to  reflection  and  system. 

Historical  studies  there  were  yet  none  :  the  exegetical  were  no 
more  as  esteemed  ;  and  yet  the  human  mind  was  awaking  with 
great  force  all  over  Europe.  It  needed  a  guide  to  direct  it,  and 
this  guide  was  found  in  Dialectic  Philosophy  :  and  as  Theology 
was  the  science  of  the  age,  the  human  mind  adventured  upon  this 
field,  under  the  auspices  of  their  new  leader.  This  tendency  of 
the  scholastic  might  lead  to  rationahsm — to  infidelity;  but  the 
good  doctors  of  the  age  opposed  to  these  the  holy  truths  of  The- 
ology "  The  Christian  (says  Anselm,  the  father  of  Scholastic  The- 
ology) should  come  to  understanding  through  faith,  and  not  to  faith 
through  imderstanding.  I  seek  not  to  comprehend,  in  order  to 
believe;  I  believe,  that  I  may  comprehend."  "And  I  believe 
even,  because,  if  I  did  not  believe,  I  .should  not  comprehend." 
Immediately  Abelard  and  his  school  avail  themselves  of  the  scho- 
lastic principle,  and  become  the  advocates  of  free  examination. 
They  wish  first  to  comprehend,  and  then  to  believe.  "  Faith,  say 
they,  established  by  examination,  is  much  more  solid.  It  is  ne- 
cessaiy  to  meet  the  enemies  of  the  Gospel  on  their  own  ground : 


THE  VOICE  OF  THE  CHURCH.  213 

if  we  are  not  to  discuss,  we  must  believe  everything,  the  false  as 
well  as  the  true." 

In  the  meantime,  whatever  may  have  been  the  danger  of  these 
tendencies,  and  whatever  the  reproaches  of  the  Church,  we  can- 
not accuse  these  doctors  with  having  abandoned  any  doctrine  of 
the  Christian  faith.  We  cannot,  however,  wholly  absolve  them. 
Scholasticism  often  disfigured  Christian  truth.  Its  tendencies  and 
the  times  in  which  it  appeared,  necessarily  led  to  this.  Human 
reason  never  ventures  without  danger  on  those  great  truths  which 
surpass  created  intelligence.  The  school  of  the  middle  ages,  like 
that  of  Alexandria  before,  shook  the  foundations  of  the  Christian 
system,  in  attempting  to  establish  them.  It  had  its  great  minds, 
and  under  its  influence  there  was  progress — I  will  not  say  of  Re- 
ligion, but  of  science,  of  Theology.  The  great  men,  who  were 
the  lights  of  these  times,  communicated  much  instruction  to  the 
scholars,  who  filled  their  schools,  and  Avho  followed  them  by 
thousands,  and  into  the  descent,  if  necessary,  where  chairs  of  doc- 
trine were  established. 

It  has  become  common,  with  certain  nnbelievers,  to  brand 
Christian  orthodoxy  as  an  invention  of  the  middle  ages.  This  trite 
accusation  does  too  much  honor  to  the  age  in  question :  The 
Christian  doctrine  already  existed.  But  let  us  interrogate  some 
of  the  men  of  this  age. 

For  their  exposition  of  the  doctrine  of  Salvation,  let  us  hear  An- 
selm,  the  most  influential  perhaps  of  all  the  Philosophical  Theolo- 
gians— Anselm  of  Canterbury,  the  second  Augustin  of  the  Latin 
Church,  who  knew  so  well  how  to  unite  the  researches  of  Philo- 
sophy with  the  purity  of  the  Christian  faith.  The  system  of  Re- 
demption is  developed  by  him,  in  a  manner  to  satisfy  at  once  the 
iinderstanding  and  the  heart.  "  All  rational  creatures,"  says  he, 
"  are  under  obligation  to  submit  their  wills  to  the  will  of  the  great 
Creator.  This  law,  the  first  man  transgressed,  and  thus  destroyed 
the  harmony  of  moral  order.  Now  the  law  of  eternal  righteous- 
ness demands,  either  that  the  human  race  should  be  punished,  or 
that  by  some  satisfaction,  proceeding  from  humanity,  that  order 
should  be  restored.  Without  this,  it  would  be  altogether  incon- 
sistent that  polluted  man  should  hold  communion  with  happy 
spirits.  But  man  could  not,  of  himself,  accomplish  this  satisfac- 
tion. As  human  nature  had  been  corrupted  by  one,  so  by  one 
ought  the  satisfaction  to  be  made. 

"He,  who  should  effect  this,  must  be  some  being  above  creatures. 
He  must  be  God  himself;  and  in  the  meantime  he  must  be  human 
also,  to  the  end  that  the  satisfaction  may  be  applicable  to  human- 
ity. This  could  be  none  other,  then,  than  God-man,  the  Mediator. 
This  God-man  must  deliver  himself  vip  to  death  voluntarily,  since 
he  was  not,  as  God,  subject  to  death :  and  he  must  exhibit  perfect 
obedience  in  the  midst  of  the  greatest  sorrows.  God  would  then 
owe  to  Christ  a  recompense ;  but  Christ,  as  God,  covdd  need  no 
recompense  :  he  could  therefore  transfer  his  merits  to  the  world, 
and  demand  for  his  reward  the  salvation  of  believers. "  Thus 
speaks  Anselm  in  his  Treatise — Sur  Dens  homo. 


214  THE  VOICE  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

But  what  is  remarkable — considering  the  common  opinion  form- 
ed of  these  men — is,  that  they  insist  much  on  the  sandifying  iiiflu- 
encc  of  faith.  "  The  sufferings  of  Clirist,"  says  Peter  Lnmhord,  the 
iUustrious  Master  of  Sentences — "  dehver  us  from  sin  ;  for  this  im- 
mense sacrifice  of  divine  love  inspires  us  with  love  for  God,  and 
this  love  works  our  sanctification."  "  The  just  man,  who  lives 
by  faith,"  says  Robert  PuUcijn,  "  is  already  sanctified  within,  and 
exhibits  good  works  as  signs  of  his  faith  and  sanctification :  faith 
first  produces  righteousness  of  heart,  and  righteousness  of  heart 
produces  good  works."  Alexander  de  Hales,  who  was  called  the 
irrefragable  doctor,  speaks  thus :  "  Man  in  his  original  state  never 
opposed  himself  to  God.  He  then  had  need  only  oi  formative 
grace ;  but  now  that  there  is  something  in  him  o^iposite  to  God, 
and  which  cannot  be  removed  except  by  the  power  of  God,  man 
needs  transformative  grace." 

There  are  undoubtedly  some  differences  between  these  great 
men,  but  these  differences  only  show  how  firmly  established  they 
were  in  the  essential  truths  of  Salvation.  Anselin,  for  instance, 
Tliomas  Aquinas,  and  others  supposed  that  the  sacrifice  of  Christ 
effected  the  salvation  of  man,  in  virtue  of  an  intrinsic  value  {ex 
insito  valore) ;  Avhile  many  other  Scholastics,  and  Duns  Scott  in 
particular,  contended  that  it  was  owing  solely  to  the  design  and 
counsel  of  God.  This  was  the  difference  ;  while  all  proclaimed 
that  a  man  was  a  lost  being,  and  saved  alone  by  the  death  of  the 
God-man  Jesus  Christ. 

IV. THE    FORM    OF    THE    REFORMATION. 

Such  is  the  testimony  of  these  last  ages,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
WickUffs  and  the  Waldos,  the  forerunners  of  that  great  movement, 
which  now  began  to  appear  in  the  world.  The  Church  had  had 
its  youth,  full  of  life  and  vigor,  its  manhood  mature  with  strength 
and  clearness,  and  its  ripe  age  of  reason  and  of  system.  But  af- 
ter the  period  of  the  schools  the  age  of  rationalism  "was  past. 
Now  the  hierarchy  sought  to  embrace  all  within  its  iron  grasp : 
life,  dogma,  system,  lay  as  under  a  funeral  stone,  and  all  the  no- 
ble tendencies  of  the  Church  must  die.  Vain  effort !  She  burst 
these  bands  of  death,  rolled  back  the  stone  of  the  Sepulchre,  and 
came  forth,  a  dead  man  restored  to  life  !  Let  us  salute  her,  under 
this  fourth  form,  the  form  of  the  Reformation. 

If  the  three  preceding  forms  were  those  of  life,  of  doctrines,  of 
system,  Avhat  shall  be  the  characteristic  of  this  ?  Gentlemen,  the 
Reformation  was  the  re-establishment  of  former  things.  But  this 
re-establishment  will  not  have  respect  to  any  one  of  the  preced- 
ing forms  exclusively ;  it  shall  be  the  re-uniting  of  the  Avhole. 
Of  these,  which  had  before  existed  only  in  separate  forms,  it  will 
now  form  an  admirable  Triology.  Behold,  our  fourth  form,  an 
epoch  of  the  Church.  The  Reformation  takes  the  form  of  sys- 
tem, carries  that  back  to  dogma,  and  then  crowns  all  with  the 
characteristic  of  life.     It  unites  the  three  wisdoms  of  preceding 


THE  VOICE  OP  THE  CHURCH.  215 

She  commenced  Avith  the  life.  Luther  proved,  through  divine 
grace,  the  Uviiig  iniluence  of  Christianity,  as  no  preceding  Doctor, 
perhaps,  had  ever  feU  it  before.  The  Reformation  sprang  hving 
from  his  own  heart,  Avhere  God  himself  had  i)laced  it.  Tlie  era 
which  passed  during  the  time  of  the  teacher  of  VVittembnrgh, 
was,  so  to  speak,  aJl  life.  This  is  so  true  that  the  admirable  work 
published  by  Melanttkon  (the  TJieologian  of  the  Reformation),  we 
speak  now  of  the  first  edition  of  his  Loci  Communes — omits  the 
doctrine  of  the  essence  of  God  and  the  Trinitij.  Not  that  he  con- 
sidered these  doctrines  unimportant ;  they  are,  on  the  contrary, 
the  basis  of  his  system;  but  because,  in  his  own  words,  "  it  is 
more  profitable  to  adore  these  mysteries,  than  deeply  attempt  to 
sound  them." 

But  even  here  you  will  find  that  Christian  life  is  built  on  Chris- 
tian doctrine  :  and  then  accordingly,  in  the  second  period  of  the 
Reformation  (that  wliich  produced  the  confession  of  Augsburgh, 
drawn  up  by  Melancthon  liimself),  these  doctrines  are  presented, 
defined,  and  illustrated  in  all  their  force.  The  Trinity,  total  de- 
pravity, and  above  all,  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  alone, 
are  there  exi)Iained  with  a  clearness  and  force  scarce  equalled  iu 
the  epocli  of  dogmatism  itself.  You  find  sijstetn,  also,  in  the  har- 
monious distribution  of  all  the  doctrines  of  Christianity;  and  this 
characteristic  appears  above  all  in  the  third  period  of  the  Re- 
formation, imder  the  influence  of  IMelancthon  of  Germany,  and 
Calvin  of  Geneva.  The  Christian  Institutes  of  our  Reformer 
will  remain  for  ages  one  of  the  most  beautiful  monuments  of  the 
Christianity  oi system. 

Would  you  know  how  strong  is  the  testimony  of  this  epoch  to 
the  immutable  truths  of  the  Go.spel,  hear  the  great  Doctor  of  Wit- 
temburgli  on  the  Divinity  of  Christ.  "  If  Christ,"  says  he,  "  be  not 
the  true  and  essential  God,  begotten  of  the  Father  in  eternity,  and 
the  creator  of  all  creatures — we  are  lost:  for  of  what  avail  were  the 
sufferings  and  death  of  Christ,  if  he  were  only  man  like  you  and 
I.'  He  could  not,  in  that  case,  conquer  Satan,  sin,  and  deatli.  We 
need  a  Saviour  who  is  truly  God  over  all:  the  conqueror  of  sin 
and  death,  of  Satan  and  hell,  hi  vain  do  tlie  Arians  tell  us  he  is 
the  most  exalted  of  creatures.  They  A\'ish  in  this  way  to  screen 
their  sliamefnl  error,  that  the  people  may  not  perceive  it;  but  if 
we  corrupt  the  Doctrine  of  Christ  in  the  least  degree,  irreparable 
mischief  is  done.  If  yon  take  away  his  proper  Divinity,  there  is 
no  deliverance  for  us  from  the  wrath  to  come." 

And  what  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Reformation  concerning  man  .* 
It  reduces  to  powder  the  subtleties  of  tlie  Scholastics  on  this  point, 
and  presents  the  truth  with  an  admirable  clearness  and  simplicity. 
Luther,  even  before  the  publication  of  his  famous  Theses  on  In- 
dulgences, published  others  concerning  man;  and  here  are  some 
of  the  great  truths,  which,  even  at  the  morning  of  the  Reformation, 
lie  declares  himself  ready  to  defend. 

"  That  man  has  become  an  evil  tree,  and  can  neither  will  nor  do 
anything  but  evil." 

"  On  the  part  of  man,  there  is  nothing  preceding  grace  but  im- 
potency  and  rebellion."  • 


216  THE  VOICE  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

"  There  is  no  moral  virtue  without  pride,  or  discontent  (iristesse), 
that  is,  without  sin." 

"  He  who  is  destitute  of  the  grace  of  God  sins  continually,  though 
he  should  not  steal,  kill,  or  commit  adultery." 

But  in  what  manner  shall  we  speak,  gentlemen,  of  the  testimony 
which  the  Reformation  gives  to  the  doctrine  of  grace  ?  It  was  by 
this  doctrine  that  it  overturned  entirely  the  foundations  of  Rome. 

The  Reformation  never  suffers  man  to  rest  the  hope  of  his  salva- 
tion in  anything  done  by  himself  or  in  himself.  Christ  is  the  only 
foundation :  and  faith,  in  his  name,  the  only  means  of  grace. 
Every  other  view  leads  either  to  pride  or  despair.  Hear  Luther : 
writing  to  his  friend  Sphanlein,  he  says,  "  Have  you  at  length  de- 
spaired of  your  own  righteousness  .'  And  do  you  rejoice  and  con- 
fide in  the  righteousness  of  Christ.'  Learn,  my  brother,  to  know 
Christ  and  him  crucified ;  learn  to  despair  of  yourself  and  to  sing 
this  song,  '  Jesus,  my  Lord,  thou  art  my  righteousness,  and  I  thy 
sin :  thou  hast  taken  that  which  was  mine,  and  given  me  that 
which  belonged  to  thee  :  thou  hast  become  that  which  thou  wast 
not,  and  caused  me  to  be  what  I  was  not  myself.'  "  Works,"  says 
he,  "  on  one  occasion,  are  not  taken  into  consideration,  when  jus- 
tification is  the  subject  concerned.  True  faith,  indeed,  will  never 
fail  to  produce  good  works,  any  more  than  the  sun  will  fail  to 
shine  ;  but  after  all,  it  is  not  our  good  works  which  dispose  God 
to  justify  us." 

"  Undoubtedly,"  says  Melancthon,  "  renovation  of  heart  must 
flow  from  faith ;  but  if  you  inquire  after  justification,  turn  your 
eyes  from  this  renovation  and  fix  them  on  the  promises — on  Christ 
— knowing  that  \ve  are  justified  only  for  the  love  of  Christ,  and  not 
on  account  of  our  new  nature.  Faith  justifies,  not,  as  some  sup- 
pose, because  it  is  in  us,  as  the  root  of  a  good  tree ;  but  because 
it  lays  hold  on  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  love  of  whom  we  are  rendered 
acceptable  to  God."  "  We  offer  nothing  to  God,"  says  Calvin, 
"  but  by  his  grace,  we  are  become,  as  it  were,  all  pure  without 
regard  to  our  works." 

All  the  Reformers,  while  they  differ  on  some  points,  are  of  one 
accord  in  this.  In  Germany,  in  Switzerland,  in  France,  in  Great 
Britain,  in  Italy  even,  and  in  Spain,  they  teach  the  doctrine  of 
Justification  by  Faith  alone. 

But  why  do  I  enlarge  ?  Have  we  not  the  Confessions  of  the  Re- 
formers, and  do  not  the  adversaries  of  our  faith,  as  well  as  its 
friends,  agree  that  this  was  j)re-eminently  the  doctrine  of  the 
Ileformation  ? 

Gentlemen  ;  there  is  yet  another  period — a  fifth  form,  perhaps, 
now  commencing  for  the  Church ; — a  form  unknown,  mysterious; 
and  of  which  the  characteristics  cannot  yet  be  very  clearly 
defined.  Of  one  thing,  however,  we  may  be  confident :  one  thing 
the  past  teaches,  and  that  is,  that  the  same  great  verities  which 
have  formed  the  foundation  hitherto,  will  be  the  essence  of  the 
form  which  is  yet  to  come.  The  salutary  doctrines  which  have 
yet  governed  the  Church,  will  not  relinquish  her  helm  now.  This 
precious  vessel  shall  not  be  abandoned  to  perfidious  and  epheme- 


THE    VOICE    OF    THE    CHURCH.  217 

ral  winds  ; — to  the  heresies  of  Theodoskis  and  Pelagius — of  Arius 
and  Soa'nus.     Ce  qui  6t^  sera!    That  which  has  been,  will  be. 

Further  than  this  :  the  histoiy  of  the  past  is  a  guarantee  that  the 
future  shall  re-unite  all  which  was  good  in  forms,  that  arc  now 
no  more  God  will  not  permit  anything  to  be  lost,  which  was 
once  in  his  Church,  and  for  his  Church.  And  this  leads  me  to 
glance  at  an  error  of  some  well-intentioned  Christian.s,  who  speak 
of  returning  to  primitive  Christianity,  without  caring  for  what  lies 
m  the  way  from  that  to  the  present  times.  The  Church  could  no 
more  disengage  itself  from  the  influence  of  the  difl'erent  forms 
through  which  she  has  passed,  than  a  tree  could  despoil  itself  of 
the  diiTerent  layers  with  which  each  returning  spring  has  clothed 
it ;  or  the  body  of  a  full  grown  man  get  rid  of  the  accretions  of 
previous  years. 

For  us,  gentlemen,  we  will  not  indeed  turn  our  eyes  wholly  to 
the  future ;  but  neither  will  we  wholly  reject  the  past.  The  past 
will  be  in  the  future.  Life, 'doctrines,  system,  all  will  be  united, 
and  perfectly,  in  the  form  which  is  yet  to  be. 

In  the  meantime  there  will  undoubtedly  be  something  to  dis- 
tinguish this  new  form  from  that  of  the  Reformation  ;  but  who 
shall  say  what  it  will  be  ?  I  will  venture  to  say  thus  much, — that 
perhaps  the  principal  characteristic  will  be  the  missionary  spirit — 
the  carrying  to  all  the  race  of  men,  and  to  every  individual,  that 
which  the  preceding  forms  have  preserved  and  produced.  Did 
not  the  period  of  the  Reformation  unite  the  isolated  good  of  three 
preceding  eras,  to  the  eud  that  the  new  period  might  stretch  out 
its  hand,  laden  with  these  riches,  and  scatter  them  abroad  over 
all  the  earth  .'  Ought  not  these  riches  to  become  the  i^roperty  of 
all  men,  and  in  a  manner  they  have  not  yet  been  .'  But  I  refrain 
from  these  suggestions — covered  as  they  are  with  a  veil  of  deep 
obscurity. 

But  one  thing  is  certain  and  we  ought  to  know  it.  We  are, 
gentlemen,  entering  on  a  new  era  for  science  and  for  the  Church  : 
and  ours  i.«;  the  generation  which  must  give  to  this  new  era  its 
first  and  most  important  impulse.  There  is  much  to  do,  and  but 
few  as  yet  to  accomplish  it.  You,  at  least,  my  voice  can  reach. 
Destined,  therefore,  to  open  this  new  direction  of  piety  and  of 
science,  form  yourselves  as  scribes  and  teachers  for  the  work. 
Understanding,  tkat  to  conquer  a  strong  infidelity  will  require  a 
strong  faith  and  extensive  knowledge.  Enrich  yourselves  with 
the  past,  to  prepare  for  the  future.  Ye  young  men,  who  are  yet 
to  serve  the  Church  of  Him  who  has  given  his  life  for  the  sheep  ; 
and  ye  who  are  already  established  over  the  flock,  understand 
weU  what  it  is,  which  a  sound  Theology  will  require.  Profit  by 
the  instructions  of  history.  Let  her  carry  you  beyond  the  narrow 
bounds  with  which  prejudice  or  locality  may  have  surrounded 
you— and  leave  the  dull  track  where  servile  spirits  are  willing  to 
(Irag  themselves  along.  Live— not  alone  with  the  passing  moment, 
but  with  other  ages.  History  invokes  them  ;  history  surrounds 
you  with  them,  and  makes  you  hear  their  grand  and  solenan  testi- 
mony 

10 


218  THE    VOICE    OF    THE    CHURCH. 

Will  you  reject  the  voice  of  all  the  Church,  and  of  Jesus  Christ 
himself,  for  the  voice  of  a  single  teacher  ?  Will  you  despise  that 
glory  which  comes  from  God,  and  seek  for  that  which  comes  from 
the  present  world  ?  Pursue  this  wonderful  chain,  the  first  link  of 
which  is  God  himself,  and  which,  forming  itself  through  so  many 
ages,  has  reached  at  length  even  unto  us.  Be  unwilling  to  turn 
aside  for  some  obscure  heresy :  be  firm  and  faithful,  should  you  find 
yourselves  alone — alone  in  the  Church,  alone  in  the  world — a  con- 
fessor and  a  martyr  for  "  God  manifest  in  the  flesh."  Be  not  dis- 
heartened, but  comfort  yourselves  in  reflecting  that  you  have  God 
for  your  witness,  and  the  company  of  all  those  illustrious  men, 
whose  voice  you  have  to-day  heard.  History  shows  that  Christi- 
anity has,  in  all  ages,  acted  with  force  upon  the  minds  of  men  ; 
but  shows  at  the  same  time,  that  it  is  by  the  same  doctrines  that 
this  regenerating  influence  has  been  felt.  The  orthodox  dogmas 
alone  have  had  this  power,  whether  on  individuals  or  a  people. 
All  others  have  served  only  to  amuse,  and  to  ruin  them.  Never 
will  you  find  life,  where  you  do  not  truth.  Are  you  willing  then 
to  be  mere  rhetoricians,  and  amused  by  high-sounding  language  ; 
or  do  you  desire  to  be  the  benefactors  of  your  race,  and  save  them 
by  the  power  and  wisdom  of  God  ?  Attach  yourselves,  I  pray 
you,  to  that  which  is  saving — immutable- — eternal  :  associate 
yourselves  with  a  sacred  host.  Behold  ;  what  mighty  efforts  are 
now  making  in  Switzerland  and  in  France,  in  Germany  and  Holland, 
in  Great  Britain  and  America,  to  restore  to  the  world  a  sound 
Theology  and  establish  the  throne  of  truth." 

And  thou,  O  God  most  High  :  by  that  light  which  causeth  to  see 
Hght — illuminate  our  minds,  and  open  the  portals  of  that  science, 
whose  unsearchable  treasures  are  concealed  in  Jesus  Christ .' 


VOICE  FROM  ANTIQUITY 


MEN  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 


PROLOGUE. 


BETWEEN    THREE    YOUNG    MEN    OF    THE    NINETEENTH    CENTURY. 


First  Young  Man. — Society  is  dissoh'ing.  Where  is  the  link  that  once 
bound  it  together  ?  Is  there  anyone  sentiment  that  governs  it  1  Yes,  one 
— and  that  is  selfishness.  Selfishness  resulting  in  despair;  and  despair 
often  in  suicide  !     What  can  check  this  disease  that  is  consuming  us  ? 

I— Faith. 

First  Young  Man. — Yes,  faith.  A  noble  sentiment,  doubtless  :  but  what 
faith  ■?  Shall  it  be  that  of  the  Sergeant  who  blew  out  his  brains,  crying,  I 
believe  in  Victor  Hugo,  or 

I— Faith  in  God. 

First  Young  Man. — Does  not  everybody  in  France  believe  in  God  in  one 
way  or  another  ?     And  yet  France  is  not  cured. 

/. — Faith  in  God  consists  not  only  in  believing  that  He  is,  but  in  believ- 
ing also  what  He  says.  When  we  have  faith  in  any  one,  we  believe  his 
word ;  now  in  France  people  do  not  believe  what  God  has  spoken. 

First  Young  Man. — I  can  easily  know  what  Cousin,  Hugo,  Lamartine  or 
Chateaubiiand  have  said,  for  their  works  abound  among  us.  But  pray, 
where  shall  we  find  what  God  has  spoken  ? 

I. — In  the  Bible  ;  in  the  Book,  the  Book  of  nations,  the  Book  of  God. 

First  Young  Man. — The  Bible  !  Yes,  I  have  heard  of  it,  but  must  con- 
fess I  have  never  read  it  and  not  even  seen  it.  It  is  far  from  being  gene- 
rally diffused,  like  the  Meditations  of  Lamartine,  or  Beranger's  Songs.  It 
is  scarcely  spoken  of  in  France.     Is  it  much  known  in  other  countries  ? 

L — The  Book  of  God  is  translated  into  more  than  150  languages  ;  it  is 
scattered  among  all  tribes  and  nations  of  man.  There  are  languages  in 
which  it  is  the  only  written  book.  The  savages  of  distant  islands  come  in 
crowds  to  lie  down  for  days  and  nights  before  the  humble  missionary 
dwelling  where  it  is  being  printed  in  their  own  tongue,  that  they  may  be 
the  first  to  bear  it  away  in  fragments,  leaf  by  leaf:  and  already  has  it  begun 
to  circulate  among  the  three  or  four  hundred  millions  of  the  Celestial 
Empire. 

First  Young  Man. — It  must  be  very  ancient,  to  have  travelled  so  far. 

/■ — When  the  first  of  its  writers  composed  his  books,  Greece  knew  not 
yet  her  letters. 


222  PROLOGUE. 

First  Young  Man. — But  what  has  it  been  doing  in  the  world  ?  Has  it 
produced  effects  comparable  to  those  of  the  works  of  modern  authors  ? 

1. — When  the  world  was  sinking  into  decay,  in  the  time  of  the  Roman 
Emperors,  this  Book  triumphed  over  the  corruption  of  the  South,  and 
created  a  new  world.  And  when  the  Barbarians  had  threatened  to  stifle 
our  Europe  in  its  new  birth,  this  Book  triumphed  over  the  barbarism  of 
the  North,  and  created  modern  society.  It  is  able  to  save  us  for  the  third 
time — and,  even  now,  is  converting  the  ends  of  the  earth  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  true  God. 

First  Yoimg  Man. — Certainly  if  these  things  were  known  and  understood, 
this  Book  would  command  more  attention. 

1. — It  must  be  read ;  it  must  be  found  in  every  school  and  in  every 
cottage  ;  every  Frenchman  must  own  a  Bible. 

Third  Young  Man. — My  dear  friends  of  the  city,  you  have  been  talking 
this  half  hour  about  religion,  and  you  have  not  mentioned  either  church, 
bishop,  or  curate.  It  is  not  so  with  us  in  the  country.  We  have  a  great 
respect  for  what  you  imagine  to  be  no  longer  in  existence.  Know  then,  that 
in  France  we  still  go  to  confession,  and  still  believe  in  the  priest  who 
alone  has  the  right  to  direct  us.  Now,  sir,  the  Church  forbids  the  people 
to  read  this  Book,  whose  cause  you  so  valiantly  espouse; 

/. — How  can  the  men  of  God  prohibit  the  reading  of  the  Word  of  God? 

First  Yoimg  Man. — What  is  that  you  say  ?  An  advertisement  of  this 
book,  wluch  I  read  in  a  paper,  announced  that  it  was  published  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Archbishop  of  Paris. 

/. — The  priests  forbid  the  people  to  read  the  Holy  Scriptures  !  As  well 
might  the  king's  ministers  prohibit  Frenchmen  from  reading  the  charter 
which  they  are  bound  to  observe. 

First  Young  Man. — Some  ill-disposed  minds  would  be  ready  to  infer  that 
the  priests  have  special  reasons  for  concealing  the  contents  of  that  Book. 

Third  Young  Man. — No  matter  :  the  Church  is  always  the  same.  What 
the  holy  Fathers  enjoined  from  the  earliest  ages,  she  enjoins  still,  despite 
the  pretensions  or  tVie  ridicule  of  the  present  generation.  We  ought  to  sub- 
mit to  what  has  been  acknowledged  from  all  antiquity  to  be  true. 

/. — But  where  do  you  find  that  the  Church  wishes  to  keep  for  her  own 
use,  the  treasure  which  was  entrusted  to  her  to  distribute  generously  to 
all? 

Third  Young  Man. — If  the  early  Fathers  of  the  Church  had  wished  us  to 
read  it,  why  is  it  not  given  to  us  ? 

First  Young  Man. — If  this  book  is  what  you  say  it  is,  why  has  there  been 
no  appeal  made  to  the  present  generation,  to  induce  them  to  read  it  ? 

/• — (To  the  first.) — You,  on  the  one  side,  demand  an  appeal  to  the  men 
of  our  day.  ( 2b  the  third.)  And  you,  on  the  other,  desire  to  hear  the  voice 
of  the  ancients.  If  such  an  appeal  and  such  a  voice  are  heard,  promise  me 
one  thing. 

First  You/)Tg  Man. — What? 

/. — Serious  attention. 

Both. — We  promise, 


A  VOICE  FROM  ANTIQUITY. 


Verbum  autem  Domini  manet  sternum. — St.  Peter. 


I. 

Oh,  Earth  !  earth  !  earth  !  hear  the  voice  of  the  Almighty  !  God 
has  spoken.  He  who  in  the  beginning  made  the  heavens  and 
the  earth,  has  caused  his  voice  to  be  heard  among  men.  His 
voice  is  powerful  as  the  whirlwind  that  cleaves  the  mountains 
asunder,  and  rends  the  rocks  from  their  base. 

His  voice  is  gentle  and  consoling ;  it  penetrates  the  depths  of 
the  heart,  and  makes  sunshine  there.  Oh  man  !  thy  Creator,  thy 
Father,  thy  Friend,  thy  Saviour,  thy  God  has  spoken  here  below, 
and  thou  hast  paid  no  regard  to  Him. 

Thou  hast  listened  to  the  voice  of  thy  gay  companions,  to  their 
tales,  their  jests,  and  their  boisterous  merriment,  but  thou  hast 
given  no  attention  to  the  words  of  thy  God. 

Thou  hast  listened  to  the  voice  of  seducers,  of  those  whose 
words  were  flattering,  whose  lips  drop  as  an  honey -comb  while 
the  poison  of  asps  was  concealed  beneath  ; — of  those  who  said, 
"  Come  with  us" — but  whose  feet  go  dowir  to  death,  and  their 
steps  take  hold  on  hell ;  and  still  thou  hast  regarded  not  the  mes- 
sage of  tliy  God. 

Thou  hast  listened  in  the  haunts  of  business  to  the  voice  of 
those  who  buy,  and  those  who  sell,  to  the  voice  of  stewards  and 
of  the  servants  of  mammon — to  the  voice  of  thine  own  heart, 
which  repeated  evermore,  "Give!-  Give!" — and  yet  thou  hast 
had  no  ear  for  the  words  of  thy  God  ! 

Thou  hast  listened  to  the  voice  of  the  courier  as  he  swept  by 
thee  with  the  words,  "  a  wonderful  event  has  just  transpired" — 
to  the  voice  of  friends  who  answer  thy  eager  question,  "  what 
news  to-day  .'" — to  the  voice  of  those  who  relate  to  thee  the  de- 
bates of  statesmen,  or  the  battles  of  soldiers — and  yet  thou  hast 
disregarded  the  voice  of  thy  God.  All — all  could  gain  attention 
from  thee  except  thy  Creator  and  Sovereign. 

fell: 

'  Oh  Earth !  earth !  earth !  hear  the  voice  of  the  Almighty ! 
Could  He  forget   thee  who  has  given  thee  life  -     Could  He  who 


224  A    VOICE    FROM    ANTIQUITY. 

called  thee  into  existence,  fail  to  show  thee  the  path  of  happi- 
ness ?  Must  not  He  who  formed  thee,  understand  thee  perfectly, 
and  know  certainly  what  is  best  for  thee  ?  Oh  man  !  where  wilt 
thou  find  a  protector  more  powerful — a  friend  more  tender  than 
thy  Creator,  and  thy  God  ?  To  whom  oughtest  thou  to  listen  if 
not  to  Him  ? 

It  was  early  spring  time;  all  was  calm.  The  silver  moonlight 
streamed  into  a  spacious  hall,  lately  resounding  with  the  voice  of 
song  and  laughter ;  graceful  forms  had  glided  through  the  dance 
there,  and  sounds  of  deep  melody  had  floated  on  the  evening  air. 
But  the  gay  groups  had  separated  ;  the  silence  of  night  had  suc- 
ceeded to  the  confused  murmur  of  the  festival ;  and  thought 
awoke.  The  hearts  of  some  among  them  said,  "  This  is  not  hap- 
piness ;  we  need  something  beyond  this.  The  period  of  our  life 
is  as  nothing  in  God's  sight.  There  is  a  higher,  an  eternal  happi- 
ness. Who  will  give  it  to  us ;  who  will  show  us  the  way  to  it .'" 
And  I  seemed  to  hear  a  voice  from  Heaven  answering — The 
WORDS  OF  YOUR  GoD !  Oh  sons  and  daughters  of  men !  behold 
the  guide  to  that  better  land — read  them. 

It  was  summer ;  All  was  activity  m  city  and  field.  The  mer- 
chant was  busy  at  his  counting-house,  the  workman  in  his  shop, 
the  mother  in  her  household,  the  soldier  at  his  post,  the  laborer 
in  his  field. 

There  was  a  murmur  like  the  humming  of  insects,  in  the  heat 
of  the  day,  but  vast  and  deep,  for  it  was  the  busy  hum  of  men. 
And  numbers  among  them  said  with  hollow  eyes  and  mournful 
voice,  "Alas!  true  happiness  is  not  found  in  the  whirl  of  busi- 
ness. Who  will  tell  us  where  to  seek  it  ?"  And  again  I  seemed 
to  hear  a  voice  from  Heaven,  answering,  the  words  or  your  God 
— oh,  children  of  men — will  show  you  the  path  of  happiness. 
Read  them. 

It  was  a  day  in  autumn.  The  wind  had  stripped  the  trees, 
their  dry  leaves  carpeted  the  earth,  old  men  and  women  were 
reposing  in  the  faint  sunshine  before  their  houses,  while  their 
children  "were  at  work,  and  each  one  thought  to  himself;  Soon 
my  last  sun  will  rise  ;  soon  will  the  sharp  blasts  of  death  detach 
me  from  the  tree  of  life,  and  lay  me  low,  like  these  leaves,  on  the 
earth.  Who  will  give  me  the  assurance  of  immortality .'  Who 
will  give  me  eternal  life  .'  And  again  I  seemed  to  hear  a  voice 
from  Heaven,  answering,  "  Aged  men,  the  words  of  vour  God 
can  give  it  to  you.     Read  them." 

It  was  winter.  Everything  was  dry,  frozen,  dead.  It  was  the 
time  when  men  assembling,  incite  each  other  to  crime ;  but  it 
was  the  time  also,  when  God  speaks  powerfully  to  the  soul. 
Conscience,  that  invisible  witness,  which  each  of  us  bears  within, 
seemed  awakened  in  many.  Men  and  women,  young  and  old, 
in  the  country,  and  in  town,  mourned  over  their  faults.  One 
voice  in  a  tone  of  terror  exclaimed,  "  I  have  sinned.  The  death 
which  now  reigns  over  all  nature,  dwells  also  in  my  soul;  I  do 
nothing  but  what  is  wrong;  who  can  endure  the  day  of  the 
Lord's  coming.'     Who  shall  stand  when  He  appeareth  .'  "My  sins, 


A    VOICE    FROM    ANTIQUITY.  225 

my  sins,  who  will  deliver  me  from  them  ?  Who  will  save  me  ?" 
And  I  seemed  to  hear  a  voice  from  Heaven,  saying,  Jesus  Christ  ! 
Jesus  Christ  will  deliver  thee.  He  has  come  to  seek  and  save 
that  which  is  lost.  Read  the  word  of  God  and  thou  wilt  know 
thy  Saviour,  thou  wilt  possess  salvation ! 

ni. 

"  Hear  ye  this  word  which  I  take  up  against  you,  even  a  lamen- 
tation, oh  house  of  Israel."  There  seems  a  spell  cast  upon  men. 
Despite  all  solicitations  they  will  not  take  this  precious  Book  to 
their  hearts,  though  the  words  of  God  are  written  in  it. 

It  was  offered  to  a  woman  with  white  hair,  and  shrunken  hands 
and  tottering  limbs;  "Ah,  leave  us  in  peace,"  she  exclaimed, 
"  do  not  trouble  us  with  your  Bibles ;"  and  she  shut  her  door 
against  the  holy  volume  and  him  who  bore  it.  Ah,  Lord  !  the 
children  of  this  generation  seek  books  of  amusement,  but  they 
despise  thy  Word. 

It  was  next  presented  to  a  man  of  haughty  appearance,  with  a 
lofty  glance  and  an  air  of  dignity.  He  laughed  in  scorn  at  the 
offer ;  with  a  demoniac  sarcasm  and  a  fearful  oath,  that  caused 
the  Book  to  fall  from  the  hands  of  the  trembling  listener,  he  went 
his  way.  Ah,  Lord  !  the  children  of  this  generation  feast  on 
infamous  books,  but  they  despise  thy  Word. 

Another  approached.  One  would  liave  taken  him  at  the  first 
glance  for  a  truly  venerable  personage.  His  words  were  smoother 
than  oil,  but  they  left  a  sting  behind  sharper  than  any  two-edged 
sword.  Under  the  sheep's  clothing,  glittered  the  cruel  eyes  of  a 
devouring  wolf  "  You  must  not  read  the  Word  of  God,"  he  ex- 
claimed. Then  he  uttered  blasphemy  against  it,  and  snatching 
the  book  from  the  hands  of  an  old  man  who  had  found  there  the 
hope  of  eternal  life  and  heavenly  consolation,  he  threw  it  with 
sacrilegious  hands  into  the  fire;  the  flames  arose  and  consumed 
it.  I  looked  and  behold  I  nothing  but  a.shes  remained  of  the  ora- 
cles of  Israel. 

Ah,  Lord,  the  children  of  this  generation  seek  after  cunningly 
devised  fables  and  false  doctrines ;  but  they  despise  thy  word. 
"  You  must  not  read  the  word  of  God,"  say  they,  and  yet  the 
voice  of  antiquity  has  spoken.  The  exhortations  of  the  saints  of 
the  Eternal  have  been  heard.  All  the  teachers  of  the  flock  of 
Christ  in  the  early  ages  of  pure  Christianity  have  entreated  men 
to  read  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  to  listen  to  the  oracles  of  the 
Almighty.  But  Christianity  is  sadly  fallen,  and  neglects  the  voice 
of  its  early  benefactors. 

Oh  proud  and  audacious  tongue  that  dared  to  say,  "  Read  not 
the  word  of  God  ;"  didst  thou  not  fear  lest  the  breath  of  the  Al- 
mighty should  smite  thee  into  eternal  silence,  with  a  word  !  And 
you,  ye  sacrilegious  hands,  that  snatched  from  the  old  man  those 
oracles  of  truth,  feared  you  not  the  paralyzing  touch  of  death  ? 
0  earth  !  earth '.  earth  !  hear  the  voice  of  God's  people,  of  the 
teachers  of  the  Truth,  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  of 
10* 


226  A    VOICE    FROM    ANTIQUITY. 

those  who  are  now  in  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  with  Abraham, 
and  Isaac,  and  Jacob. 

Christians !  they  speak  to  you  from  the  stake  and  from  the 
cross,  to  which  they  were  condemned  here  below  for  the  love 
they  bore  to  Jesus.  They  speak  to  you  from  the  height  of 
Heaven,  where  they  are  reigning  in  glory  now  with  their  Re- 
deemer. Listen  to  their  voices ;  they  are  the  voices  of  friends. 
They  "  fought  a  good  fight"  in  behalf  of  this  Gospel  to  which 
you  owe  every  blessing  you  enjoy  ;  the  dedication  of  your  little 
children  to  God's  service ;  the  peaceful  rejjose  of  your  aged 
parents ;  the  intelligence  of  your  mature  age ;  the  sweets  of 
home-happiness  ;  the  arts  of  peace,  and  above  all,  eternal  life. 

Child  of  man,  whoever  thou  art,  man  or  woman,  yoitng  or  old, 
master  or  servant,  layman  or  priest,  wise  or  ignorant,  rich  or  poor, 
listen  !  This  cloud  of  witnesses  calls  to  you  out  of  heaven  to 
take  up  the  Book  of  God;  to  read  it,  to  treasure  its  teachings  in 
your  heart,  and  to  act  them  out  in  your  life. 

Come  then — traverse  with  me  the  early  ages  of  the  Church, 
but  first  put  off  your  shoes  from  off  your  feet,  for  the  place 
whereon  we  tread  is  holy  ground.  He  who  calls  himself,  I  am, 
the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith,  is  about  to  speak. 

IV. 

"  In  the  beginning  Avas  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with 
God,  and  the  Word  was  God.  The  same  was  in  the  beginning 
with  God  ;  all  things  were  made  by  Him,  and  without  Him  was 
not  anything  made  that  Avas  made.  And  the  Word  was  made 
flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us  (and  we  beheld  His  glory,  the  glory 
as  of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father)  full  of  gTace  and  truth." 
He  called  Himself 

JESUS  CHRIST. 

Eighteen  centuries  ago  earth  was  filled  with  rejoicings— God 
was  made  man  !  All  who  heard  and  believed  the  tidings  receiv- 
ed eternal  life.     Darkness  fled  before  this  light. 

"  Ah,  we  can  no  more  hear  Him  !  We  can  see  Him  no  more  ! 
He  has  gone  back  to  Heaven."  Sons  of  men,  you  can  yet  hear 
Him ;  His  word  is  in  the  midst  of  you ;  Why  do  you  not  read 
it .'  He  who  was  from  everlasting,  and  who  for  man's  salvation 
veiled  Himself  in  flesh,  eighteen  centuries  ago,  cast  His  far-reach- 
ing glance  over  ages  to  come.  He  saw  that  future  generations 
would  also  sigh  after  eternal  life,  and  He  wished  to  open  a  way 
by  which  they  too  might  be  saved.  Therefore,  He  gave  them  a 
commandment.  Earth !  earth !  earth !  listen  to  the  command 
of  Jesus   Christ:    "Search    the    Scriptures,    for    in    them   ye 

THINK  YE  HAVE  ETERNAL  LIFE,  AND  THEY  ARE  THEY  WHICH  TES- 
TIFY OF  ME."*     Thus  spoke  the  Lord  Jesus. 

v  *  The  Gospel  according  to  St.  John,  v.  19,  translated  from  the  Vulgate 
by  the  Master  De  Saci,  printed  in  1759  by  De  Bret,  ordinary  printer  to  the 
King  and  clergy  of  France. 


A    VOICE    FROM    ANTIQUITY.  227 

This  is  the  first  voice,  and  the  greatest.     Lord,  enable  ns  to  un- 
derstand thy  words  ! 


SONS    OF    MKN  !     READ   THE    BOOK. 

A  certain  man  urged  on  the  murderers  of  the  first  martyr,  and 
kept  their  clothes  while  they  stoned  him  to  death.  This  man,  as  he 
journeyed  at  noon  on  the  highway,  was  startled  by  the  splendor  of 
a  supernatural  light  that  burst  upon  him,  and  he  fell  to  the  earth. 
He  heard  a  voice  calling  him  byname,  and  answered,  "  who  art 
thou  .'"  The  voice  replied,  "  I  am  Jesus  whom  thou  persecutest : 
rise  up,  for  I  will  send  you  to  the  Gentiles  to  open  their  eyes  that 
they  may  be  converted."  And  this  man  became  the  chief  laborer 
under  God.  in  planting  anew  the  tree  of  life  in  the  desolate  home 
of  man.  He  was  called  St.  Paul.  Asia,  Macedonia,  Greece  and 
Rome  heard  his  voice,  and  a  living  spirit  was  infused  into  their 
dead  bodies. 

Men  of  this  generation,  he  has  instructions  for  you  also.  There 
are  some  Avho  in  their  sad  delusion  say,  "  All  Scripture  is  not 
good  ;  it  is  not  sufficiant  to  teach  us,  to  show  us  the  way  of  salva- 
tion, to  prepare  us  for  good  works."  Listen  to  the  words  of  St. 
Paul — "All  Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  pro- 
fitable for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in 
righteousness,  that  the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly  fur- 
nished unto  all  good  works."* 

This  was  the  second,  voice.  Lord,  enable  us  to  understand 
these  words! 

Yl. 

SONS    OF    MEN  !     READ    THE    BOOK. 

The  Son  had  scattered  the  seed.  The  Holy  Spirit  vivified  it,  and 
Jews  and  Pagans,  that  long  sterile  soil,  gave  signs  of  life.  Holy 
churches  sprang  up  everywhere,  like  trees  bearing  flowers  and 
fruit.  Of  the  believers  among  the  Jews,  there  were  some  who  re- 
ceived the  name  of  "  noble,"  and  the  commendations  of  the  Holy 
Soirit.     They  were  the  faithful  Bereans. 

And  wherefore  were  they  so  honored  ?  Because  they  searched 
the  Scriptures  daily,  to  see  if  these  things  were  so  ;  and  believed 
nothing  which  their  preacher  told  them,  unless  it  corresponded 
with  the  teaching  of  God's  Word.  And  yet  these  preachers  were 
great  apostles ;  they  were  St.  Paul  and  Silas. 

Children  of  the  present  day  —imitate  the  Chri.stians  of  Berea.  Be- 
lieve nothing  that  your  preachers  tell  you,  unless  you  find  warrant 
for  it  in  the  Bible ;  and  that  you  may  be  able  to  judge  whether 
their  teachings  correspond  with  it,  read  it  daily — read  it  much. 

*  2d  Epistle  of  St.  Paul  to  Timothy,  3d  chap.,  16, 17  verses,  Omnis  scrip- 
tura  divinitus  inspirata  utilis  est  ad  docendum,  ad  arguendum,  ad  corri- 
pendum  in  justitia:  ut  peifectus  sit  homo  Dei,  ad  omne  opus  bonum  in- 
Btructus. — (Vulgate. ) 


228  A    VOICE    FROM    ANTIQUITY. 

St.  Luke  says — They  of  Berea  "  Avere  more  noble  than  those  in 
Thessalonica,  in  that  they  received  the  word  with  all  readiness 
of  mind,  and  searched  the  Scriptures  daily  whether  these  things 
were  so."* 

This  is  the  third  voice.  Lord  enable  us  to  understand  these 
words ! 

vn. 

SONS    OF     MEN  !    READ    THE    BOOK. 

Sixteen  centuries  ago,  on  the  i^oint  where  the  Rhone  and  the 
Saone  mingle  their  waters,  there  arose  a  great  light.  A  son  of  the 
East,  a  disciple  of  Poly  carp,  who  had  himself  sat  at  the  feet  of  the 
disciple  whom  Jesus  loved,  crossed  the  seas,  ascended  the  Rhone, 
and  took  up  his  abode  in  the  city  of  Lyons,  in  which  he  became 
a  minister. 

All  who  lived  on  the  hanks  of  the  Rhone,  of  the  Saone,  and  far- 
ther still,  were  charmed  with  his  teachings. 

They  abandoned  their  idols,  and  adored  the  Lord  Jesus.  The 
Saviour  lifted  up  his  pierced  hand  on  them  in  benediction,  and 
they  began  to  live. 

This  man  was  called  Saint  Irenaius.     (A.  D.  177.) 

Listen  to  the  lessons  w'hich  he  gave  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhone 
and  Saone  1600  years  ago  : 

You  say  that  the  Scriptures  are  obscure  and  ambiguous.  Ire- 
na3us  says,  "  These  things  are  placed  before  our  eyes  openly  and 
without  ambiguity  in  the  different  books  of  Scripture. f  All  these 
may  openly  and  without  ambiguity  be  equally  understood  by  all  t 
They  must  be  very  stupid§  who  close  their  eyes  against  so  clear 
a  revelation,  and  refuse  to  admit  the  light  of  the  preached  word." 

This  is  the  fourth  voice.  Lord,  enable  us  to  understand  these 
words ! 

VIIL 

SONS  OF    MEN  !    READ    THE    BOOK. 

A  man,  in  eager  pursuit  of  science,  but  still  under  the  yok^  of 
heathenism,  traversed  Greece,  Ionia,  and  Italy,  and  visited  in  these 
abodes  of  high  civilisation  the  schools  of  the  world's  jphilosojihers, 
hoping  to  find  truth  there. 

*  Acts  xvii.  11.  Hi  autem  erant  nobiliores  eoruin,qui  sunt  Thessaloni- 
cae,  qui  susceperunt  verbum  cum  omni  aviditate,  quotidie  scrutantes  scrip- 
turas,  si  haec  ita  se  haberent.     (Vulgate.) 

t  Aperte  et  sine  ambiguo. 

J  Similiter  ab  omnibus  audiri  possint. 

§  Valde  hebetes— Tarn  lucidam.  (Five  books  against  all  heresies,  by  St. 
Irenseus,  Bishop  of  Lyons,  Book  II.,  chap.  46.)  We  do  not  give  at  length  all 
the  quotations  in  Greek  and  Latin  from  the  Fathers,  because  they  would 
occupy  too  much  time  and  space,  and  would  be  without  interest  to  a  large 
class  of  readers.  But  a  few  are  given  to  show  the  care  that  has  been  taken 
to  have  recourse  to  the  original  writings  of  the  Fathers.  All  the  passages 
alluded  to  may  be  found  in  an  elegant  work,  entitled  "  The  Select  Library 
of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church,"  by  Mr.  N.  S.  Guillon,  Professor  of  Theolo- 
gy at  Paris,  Preacher  in  Ordinary  to  the  King,  &c.,  Paris,  1824. 


A    VOICE    FROM    ANTIQUITY.  229 

In  his  journeyings  he  arrived  at  a  city,  famous  for  its  splendor 
and  wisdom,  near  the  banks  of  the  Nile.  There  he  heard,  for  the 
first  time,  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  there  he  believed.  He  received 
from  the  Redeemer  remission  of  his  sins,  and  brake  his  idols  in 
pieces.  A  few  more  months  passed,  and  he  was  himself  spread- 
ing the  light  of  truth  through  Egypt,  Jerusalem,  and  Antioch. — 
Thousands  of  ministers  of  God  were  formed  under  his  teachings. 
He  was  called  Saint  Clement  of  Alexandria.     (A.  D.  190.) 

It  is  said  by  men  of  our  day,  "  The  spirit  of  the  age  and  errone- 
ous doctrines  have  misled  great  numbers ;  the  Scriptures  are  no 
longer  fit  for  them:  they  cannot  understand  them." 

Hear  what  the  Doctor  of  the  Nile  replies  : 

"  Let  him  whose  eyes  are  obscured  by  a  bad  education,  and  by 
false  doctrines,  hasten  to  the  light,  to  the  truth,  to  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, which  will  reveal  to  him  what  cannot  be  written.  The 
Bible  kindles  a  spark  in  the  sou! ;  it  opens  the  spirit's  eyes,  that  it 
may  see  ;  and  like  the  gardener  who  grafts  a  tree,  communicates 
to  it  something  new."* 

This  is  the  fifth  voice.  Lord,  enable  us  to  understand  these 
Avords ! 

IX. 

Persecution  was  devastating  the  churches  of  Egypt.  The  popu- 
lace rose  in  crowds  against  the  Christians,  and  Severus  crushed 
them  with  his  sceptre. 

A  young  man  of  sixteen  years  saw  his  father  seized  by  a  band 
of  soldiers.  He  implored  them  to  release  him,  but  in  vain.  Leo- 
nidas  was  thrown  into  a  dungeon.  The  young  man  determined  to 
present  himself  before  the  heathen  tribunal.  He  also  would  con- 
fess his  Saviour — he  would  offer  his  life  to  those  who  murdered 
his  Ijrothers,  while  his  father  tried  to  shield  them  at  the  expense 
of  his  own.  His  heart-broken  mother  clasped  him  in  her  arms ; 
and  seeing  him  about  to  escape  from  her,  she  carried  away  his 
toga  and  tunic,  and  hid  her  son's  garments  that  she  might  save 
his  life.  Then  the  young  man,  seeing  that  he  could  not  share  the 
death  of  his  father,  exclaimed,  "  At  least,  do  not  abandon,  for  our 
sakes,  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

Leonidas  died  a  martyr's  death,  leaving  his  wife  a  widoAV,  his 
son  without  a  protector,  and  six  other  children,  still  very  young. 
The  young  man  became  a  minister  :  he  rose  to  the  chair  of  Cle- 
ment. And  if  Clement  instructed  a  thousand,  the  son  of  Leonidas 
instructed  ten  thousand.     He  was  called  Origcn.     (A.  D.  220.) 

Men  of  our  day— listen  to  the  voice  which  charmed  the  eastern 
world.  You  say,  "Who  can  explain  to  us  these  Scriptures? 
Shall  men  imfold  their  mysteries,  and  explain  their  hidden  sense 
to  us  .'     Shall  we  have  a  human  tribunal  ?" 

The  Doctor  of  the  Chiu-ch  replies  : 

"  My  son,  read  above  all,  with  deep  attention,  for  this  is  requisite 
in  order  to  speak  and  judge  of  them  Avithout  precipitation.     If 

•  Works  of  St.  Clement  of  Alexandria,  Stronriatunn,  Book  I.,  p.  274. 


230  A    VOICE    FROM    ANTIQUITY. 

yon  persevere  in  the  reading  of  the  Bible  with  a  fixed  mind  aad 
with  faith,  knock,  and  whatever  is  shnt  will  be  opened  to  you  by 
the  porter  of  whom  Jesus  speaks  in  the  Gospel  according  to  St. 
John,  chap,  x.,  verse  3.  Nevertheless,  it  is  not  enough  to  seek  and 
to  knock ;  that  which  is  most  of  all  necessary  to  enable  us  to  un- 
derstand heavenly  things— is  prayer.  The  Saviour  enjoins  it  on 
us  when  he  says,  not  only  '  Seek  and  ye  shall  find — knock  and  it 
shall  be  opened  unto  you ;'  but  also  '  Ask  and  it  shall  be  given 
luito  you,'  "* 
Lord,  enable  us  to  understand  these  words  ! 

X. 

A  certain  bishop  devoted  his  life  to  the  preaching  of  the  cross 
throughout  Carthage,  Africa,  and  all  the  West.  Persecution  ra- 
vaged the  empire — and  soon  the  venerable  head  of  the  bishop  of 
Carthage  was  to  be  laid  low  on  the  scaffold.  His  persecutors 
were  about  to  convey  him  to  Utica,  the  birthplace  of  Cato,  but  he 
escaped  from  them,  determined  that  if  lie  was  to  die  for  his  Mas- 
ter's cause,  it  should  be  among  his  own  people — among  the  men 
and  women,  the  aged  and  the  young,  whom  he  had  taught,  so 
that  they  might  receive  the  last  testimony  which  his  words  and 
his  death  could  render  to  the  glory  of  his  Saviour.  And  when  he 
learned  that  it  was  in  Carthage,  in  the  very  bosom  of  his  flock, 
that  he  was  called  to  the  crown  of  martyrdom — he  cheerfully  re- 
signed himself  into  the  hands  of  the  proconsul.  At  the  moment 
when  the  magistrate  was  pronouncing  his  sentence  of  death,  his 
heart  bounded,  his  eyes  were  raised  to  Heaven  with  a  hopeful 
gaze,  and  he  uttered  these  simple  words.  "  God  be  praised  !" 
He  was  called  Cyprian.  (A.  D.  258.) 

Before  the  murderous  sword  shall  have  stifled  in  death  that 
voice  of  wisdom,  speak,  oh  man  of  God,  to  the  people  that  sur- 
round thee,  and  tell  them  how  they  may  flnd  the  path  to  that 
heavenly  home,  towards  which  thy  looks  of  love  and  hope  are 
directed. 

He  did  speak — and  spoke  for  all  ages.  Listen  lo  the  voice  of 
the  martyr. 

"  God  was  pleased  to  reveal  much  to  his  servants,  the  prophets,^ 
but  how  much  greater  are  the  revelations  which  His  Son  has 
given  us,]:  those  which  the  word  of  God,  who  inspired  the  prophets, 
has  made  known  to  lis,  with  his  own  voice.  He  commands  no 
longer  that  the  way  shall  be  prepared  before  him ;  but  He  comes  Him- 
self. He  points  out  to  us  the  way  of  life,  and  freely  opens  its  en- 
trance to  us  ;  and  we  who  were  lying  in  darkness,  and  in  the 
shadow  of  death,  are  enlightened  by  the  illumination  of  His  Spirit, 
that  we  may  be  enabled  to  walk  in  that  path  under  His  divine 

*  A  letter  from  Origen  to  his  former  pupil,  Gregory  of  Nazianzen.    Phi- 
localia,  chap.  13.     (Collection  of  the    Writings  of  Origen  made  by  Saint 
Gregory  and  Saint  Basil.) 
t  Multa  et  per  prophetas  servos  suos,  etc.     (The  Old  Testament.) 
J  Sed  quanto  majora  sunt  quae  filius  loquitur.    (The  Gospel.) 


A    VOICE    FROM    ANTIQUITY.  231 

guidance.  Oh  brothers,  Avell  beloved  !  the  teachmgs  of  the  Gos- 
pel are  the  lessons  of  God  Himself — these  are  the  foundations  on 
which  our  faith  must  rest,  the  helm  which  directs  our  vessel,*  the 
citadel  in  which  we  find  safety.  They  who  in  sincere  faith  receive 
these  teachings  on  earth,  will  be  guided  to  that  glorious  Home 
which  God  has  prepared  for  those  who  love  Him. 

This  is  the  seventh  voice.  Lord,  enable  us  to  understand  these 
words ! 

XL 

Persecution  raged  against  the  Christians,  but  the  truth  of  God 
spread  faster  and  wider. 

The  blood  of  the  martyrs  was  the  seed  of  the  Church.  Then 
Satan,  who  was  the  spirit  that  animated  the  princes  and  priests 
of  Paganism,  inspired  them  with  a  new  idea.  "  Let  us  burn," 
they  said,  "  all  the  copies  of  the  Scriptures ;  let  us  destroy  the 
word  of  God  :  so  shall  we  annihilate  the  source  from  which  this 
religion  flows,  and  Christianity  shall  be  for  ever  banished  from  the 
earth." 

This  design  bore  direct  evidence  of  its  infernal  origin,  but  Jesus 
was  "watching  over  His  people  and  His  cause  from  His  throne  of 
glory  in  the  Heavens. 

The  priests  of  Jupiter  .and  Bacchus  demanded  the  Bible  with 
loud  outcries.  The  proconsuls  caused  the  houses  of  Christians 
to  be  searched.  Alas  !  alas  !  some  poor  timid  wretches  were  cow- 
ardly enough  to  deliver  vip  the  book  of  God  rather  than  face  death 
in  its  defence.  But  others,  faithful  even  luito  death,  refused  to 
surrender  it,  and  resigned  their  lives  rather  than  their  Bibles. 

All  the  copies  that  could  be  collected  were  heajjed  up  in  the 
public  squares  and  burned.  The  faithful  saw  from  afar  the  rising 
flames,  and  stole  mournfully  and  secretly  by  night  to  the  spot 
where  profane  hands  were  committing  to  the  fire  the  holy  words 
which  God  has  spoken.  Tears  flowed  down  their  cheeks,  and 
anguish  filled  their  hearts,  as  they  saw  the  oracles  of  Israel  re- 
duced to  ashes.  They  were  the  priests  of  the  dissolute  Jupiter,  of 
the  impure  Venus,  of  the  reeling,  drunken  Bacchus,  who  then 
burned  the  New  Testament.  Men  of  the  nineteenth  century  !  who 
are  tiiey  that  burn  it  no^v  ' 

"  Shame,  shame,  everlasting  shame,"  cried  the  Christians,  "  to 
those  who  delivered  to  unholy  hands  the  sacred  Word  of  God." 
They  gave  the  name  of  traitorsf  to  these  cowards,  and  drove  them 
from  their  Churches. 

"  Glory,  glory,  everlasting  glory,"  sang  the  angels  of  Heaven, 
"  to  the  witnesses  for  the  truth  and  its  defenders  !"  they  are  the 
Christian  Martyrs. 

"  Have  you  the  Holy  Scriptures  ?"  demanded  the  barbarous  pro- 
consuls of  these  holy  men  ? 

"  I  have,"  was  the  reply. 

♦  Gubernacula  dirigendi  itineris.    (Works  of  St.  Cyprian.     De  Oratione 
dominica,  in  initio,  p.  217.) 
t  Traditores. 


282  A    VOICE    FROM    ANTIQUITY. 

"  Where  are  they  ?" 

"  In  my  heart." 

And  they  burned  the  defenders  of  the  Word  of  God,  in  order  to 
reduce  to  ashes  even  the  hving  tables  on  which  the  finger  of  God 
had  inscribed  His  glorious  truths.* 

This  is  the  eighth  voice.  Lord,  enable  us  to  profit  by  these  ex- 
amples ! 

XII. 

What  man  is  this  in  the  midst  of  the  assembly  of  bishops,  like 
a  rock  in  the  bosom  of  the  ocean,  who  silences  all  those  that  deny 
that  he  who  died  on  the  cross  was  the  true  God,  and  who  suffers 
repeated  banishments  for  maintaining  the  supreme  Divinity  of  his 
Saviour  and  mine .' 

He  is  called  St.  Athanasius.  (A.  D.  325  ) 

He  speaks  thus  to  Christians  who  have  strayed  into  error.  "  If 
you  would  bring  forward  something  beyond  what  is  written,  why 
do  you  dispute  with  us  ?  We  are  determined  to  speak  and  to  hear 
nothing  in  these  matters  but  what  God  has  revealed  to  us  in  Scrip- 
ture." f 

Then  addressing  the  heathen  who  were  seeking  God,  he  said, 
•'  The  Holy  Scriptures  are  inspired  by  God  and  are  sufficient  to 
guide  you  into  all  truth."  J 

This  is  the  ninth  voice.  Lord,  enable  us  to  understand  these 
words  ! 

XIII. 

On  the  banks  of  Vienne,  a  bishop  feeds  his  flock,  and  within  the 
walls  of  Poictiers  delights  the  Gauls  by  his  piety  and  the  depth  of 
his  Avisdom.     He  is  called  St  Hilary.  (A.  D.  350.) 

He  turns  towards  the  East,  towards  the  magnificent  city  of  Con- 
stantine,  and  addressing  him,  who  from  that  majestic  throne  gov- 
erns the  world,  he  says — "  Oh  Emperor,  yon  are  seeking  faith  ! 
Turn  not  in  search  of  it  to  new  and  entichig  books,  but  search  the 
Scriptures,  where  alone  its  true  foundation  lies."  Theii  address- 
ing the  Christian  people  arovmd  him,  he  said,  "  Let  i;s  read  the 
things  which  are  written,  let  us  understand  what  we  read,  and 
then  our  faith  will  be  perfect." 

This  is  the  tenth  voice.  Lord,  enable  us  to  understand  these 
words ! 

XIV. 

Who  is  this  young  man  who  studies  in  the  flourishing  schools 
of  Athens,  Alexandria,  Constantinople  and  Caesarea,  and  who,  after 
having  cultivated  ancient  letters,  displays  as  bishop,  all  the  trea- 
sures of  wisdom  and  benevolence,  and  endeavors  to  restore 
peace  between  the  contending  East  and  West .' 

*  Acts  of  Saturninus,  of  Dativus  and  others  in  Africa.     Ruinart,  Du 
Pin,&c. 
t  Works  of  St.  Athanasius.    De  Incarnatione  Christi. 
}  lb.     Oratio  contra  gentes. 


A    VOICE    FROM    ANTIQUITY.  222 

It  is  Saint  Basil.  (A.  D.  870.)  He  tells  us,  "  it  is  right  and  ne- 
cessary that  each  one  should  learn  from  the  inspired  word  of  God 
whatever  is  needful  for  his  growtli  in  grace,  and  to  defend  him- 
self against  the  evils  of  hitman  tradition."  * 

And  wishing  still  more  eftectually  to  warn  men  against  mere 
human  treachery  in  divine  things,  the  holy  man  adds,  "  it  is  want 
of  faith,  it  is  great  pride,  it  is  a  heinous  crime,  to  wish  to  take  any- 
thing away  from  Scripture,  or  add  anything  thereto."  f 

This  is  the  eleventh  voice.  Lord,  enable  us  to  understand  these 
words ! 

XV. 

Who  is  this  that  dares  to  bar  the  way  against  imperial  majesty 
because  its  garments  have  been  dipped  in  blood,  and  refuses  to 
celebrate  the  Holy  Communion  in  the  presence  of  him,  before 
whom  Asia,  Africa  and  Europe  tremble,  because  he  delivered  up 
his  subjects  to  the  fury  of  his  soldiery  .'  From  within  the  walls  of 
Milan  he  summons  the  great  Theodosius  to  bow  before  Him  who 
alone  is  truly  great  and  glorious.  It  is  Saint  Ambrose.  (A.  D. 
380.) 

He  points  both  kings  and  people  to  the  source  of  life.  "  Drink," 
he  says,  "  of  the  two  cups  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  for 
from  each  of  them  you  may  drink  of  Christ.f  Thus  shall  you 
drink  of  the  blood  by  which  you  are  redeemed.  Thus  shall  yon 
drink  His  words.  The  Old  Testament,  no  less  than  the  New,  is 
all  His  word.  We  drink  the  Holy  Scriptures,  we  devour  the  sa- 
cred Book,  when  the  aliment  of  the  eternal  word  descends  into  the 
veins  of  our  soul  and  the  powers  of  our  mind,§  for  "  man  shall 
not  live  by  bread  alone,  but  by  every  word  that  proceedeth  out 
of  the  mouth  of  God." 

This  is  the  twelfth  voice.  Lord,  enable  us  to  understand  these 
words ! 

XVI. 

A  recluse  sits  with  his  head  bowed  in  deep  study  over  the  Book 
of  God,  in  the  birthplace  of  the  Saviour.  Around  him  from  the 
fields  of  Bethlehem  a  multitude  of  disciples  are  assembled  to  learn 
the  truths  of  Scripture,  and  from  him  the  knowledge  of  the  word 
of  God  is  spread  throughout  the  West.  This  is  Saint  Jerome. 
(A.  D.  390.) 

From  his  hermitage,  he  casts  a  mental  glance  over  the  children 
of  that  generation  within  the  bounds  of  Rome,  the  magnificent, 
and  writes  thus  to  a  Roman  lady  of  high  ranic : 

*  Works  of  Saint  Basil — Bishop  of  Caesarea.  Regulse  breviores,  Re- 
sponsio  95. 

t  Ibid,  Sermo  de  fide,  page  224. 

t  Uliumque  poculum  bibe  Veteris  et  Novi  Testament],  quia  exutroque 
Christum  bibis. 

§  Bibitur  scriptura  divina,  et  devoratur  scriptura  divina,  cum  in  venas 
mentis  ac  vires  animi  succus  verbi  descendit  aiterni.  Works  of  Saint  Am- 
brose. Bishop  of  Mian,  in  Psalm  1.  Enarratio. 


234  A    VOICE    FROM    ANTIQUITY. 

"  Teach  your  daughter,  from  her  earhest  years,  to  love  the 
Holy  Scriptures  better  than  gems  and  silks.*  Let  her  learu  from 
Job  a  lesson  of  patience  and  fortitude,  and  passing  thence  to  the 
Gospel,  let  her  never  relax  her  hold  on  its  blessed  truths. "f 

Then  addressing  those  who  affirmed  that  the  Bible  could  not 
be  understood  by  all,  the  hermit  of  Bethlehem  said  : 

"  The  Apostles  have  written,  and  the  Saviour  Himself  has 
spoken  in  the  Gospels,  not  that  a  few,  but  that  all  might  under- 
stand."t 

Plato  wrote  for  the  learned  few,  not  for  the  mass  ;  and  few 
indeed  vmderstand  him.  But  these,  that  is  the  princes  of  the 
Church,  the  Prophets  and  Apostles  of  the  Lord  Jesus  wrote  not 
for  the  few,  but  for  all.§ 

This  is  the  thirteenth  voice.  Lord,  enable  us  to  understand  these 
words ! 

xvn. 

« 

A  young  man  of  seventeen,  just  released  from  the  faithful  in- 
structions of  his  pious  mother,  mingles  with  the  heathen  of  Car- 
thage in  all  the  pleasures  and  disorders  of  that  great  city.  But 
the  pious  Monica  continued  to  pray,  "  Oh  Lord,  convert  my  son." 
The  young  Numidian  is  seduced  by  the  deceitful  religion  of 
Manes  :  and  soon  after,  his  spirit  is  filled  with  enthusiasm  for  the 
philosophy  of  Plato.  Still  Monica  continued  her  prayer — "  Lord, 
convert  my  son !" 

Next,  he  gave  himself  up  with  intense  interest  to  the  study  of 
the  art  of  rhetoric.  The  reputation  of  Ambrose  attracts  his  notice. 
He  enters  the  Christian  temples  of  Milan  in  search  of  eloquence, 
and  the  words  of  the  holy  bishop  break  over  his  heart  like  the 
waves  of  the  sea  against  its  shores.  And  Monica,  trembling  with 
hope,  prayed  yet  more  earnestly — "  Oh  God,  convert  my  son." 

Her  son,  filled  with  anguish,  ashamed  of  himself  and  of  his  dissi- 
pated youth — sought  one  day  the  solitude  of  his  garden,  that  he 
might  yield  to  his  emotions  luiobserved.  He  threw  himself  down 
under  a  fig-tree  ;  he  wept  bitterly ;  out  of  the  depths  of  sorrow  he 
cried  unto  the  Lord.  And  a  voice,  soft  and  sweet  as  that  of  a 
child,  stole  on  his  ear,  saying,  "  Take  and  read."  He  arose  ;  a  Bi- 
ble was  near  him  on  a  seat ;  and  as  he  opened  it,  his  eyes  fell  on 
these  words,  "  Put  ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  (St.  Paul's  Epis- 
tle to  the  Romans,  chap.  xiii.  verse  14  ) — Peace  flowed  into  his 
soul  like  a  river;  and  a  great  light,  like  the  sun  of  righteousness, 
shone  in  upon  his  understanding.     He  had  found  his  Saviour. 

He  rose  to  the  episcopal  chair  of  Hippo  ;   he  became  the  torch 

*  Pro  gemmis  et  serico  divinas  codices  amet. 

tAdEvangelia  transeat,  nunquam  ea  positura  de  manibus.  Works  of 
St.  Jerome,  author  of  the  translation  called  the  Vulgate,  used  in  the  Catho- 
Hc  Church,  Epistola  107,  §  12. 

J  Non  ut  pauci  intelligerent,  sed  ut  omnes.  Ibid.  S.  Hyeronymi  in 
Psalm  87. 

§  Non  scripserunt  paucis,  sed  universo  populo.  lb.  Comm.  S.  Hyero- 
nymi in  Psalm  87. 


A    VOICE    FROM    ANTIQUITY.  235 

of  the  West,  and  all  ages  acknowledge  him  as  the  greatest  of  the 
Fathers.  He  was  called  St.  Angiistme  (A.  D.  396.) 
jj  iln  his  time  the  Bible  formed  the  sitbject  of  stttdy  and  meditation 
among  Christians  of  all  ages,  sexes,  and  conditions.  What  books 
are  these  which  men  are  carrying  on  highways,  in  villages,  in 
lanes,  in  the  streets  of  cities,  offering  them  to  soldiers  and  to  wo- 
men, to  young  and  old,  to  great  and  small  .' 

St.  Augustine  joyfully  replies,  "  It  is  the  Holy  Scriptures  which 
are  thus  publicly  exposed  for  sale."* 

A  multitude  of  errors  began  to  darken  the  horizon.  The  doc- 
trines of  Pelagius,  of  Priscillian,  of  Arius,  of  the  disciples  of  Dona- 
tus,  mingled  in  the  spiritual  kingdom  like  the  fearful  lightning 
preceding  a  night  of  storms.  The  Bishop  of  Hippo,  calm  as  the 
luminary  which  receives  its  light  from  the  sun,  shed  his  safe  and 
peaceful  beams  on  all  around. 

With  what  weapon  will  you  repulse  these  false  teachers,  oh  son 
of  Monica  .'  and  to  what  authority  will  you  appeal,  oh  venerable 
man  of  God  ?  He  replies,  "  Who  knows  not  that  the  canonical 
Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  are  contained  within 
certain  limits,  and  that  they  are  to  be  preferred  far  above  all  the 
later  writings  of  the  bishops, f  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  bring  in 
doubt  or  question  whether  what  is  written  be  true  and  authentic  ?{ 
There  are,  midoubtedly,  certain  books  of  God,  whose  authority 
we  all  recognize ;  we  believe  them,  and  we  obey  them.  There 
let  us  seek  to  identify  the  Church :  by  them  let  us  discuss  our 
cause. §  Let  us  cast  away  all  arguments  drawn  from  other  sour- 
ces, i  cannot  admit  the  authority  of  human  documents  as  a  rule 
of  the  Church,  nor  anything  but  the  oracles  of  God."|| 

But  what  will  the  simple  and  unlearned,  who  shun  controversy, 
find  in  the  Sacred  Word,  servant  of  God .'  He  replies,  "  The  soul 
and  the  object  of  all  Scripture  is  the  love  of  Him  who  is  the  su- 
preme good,  and  the  love  of  His  creatures,  who  are  capable  of 
obtaining  happiness  from  him.iT  The  legitimate  effect  of  Holy 
Scripture  is,  first,  to  bring  him  who  reads  it  to  acknowledge  him- 
self in  bondage  to  the  love  of  this  world,  and  a  stranger  to  the 
love  of  God  and  of  his  fellow-beings,  Avhich  the  Word  enjoins. 
The  knowledge  of  the  truth  gives  life,  and  excites  in  man,  instead 
of  his  former  presumptuous  pride,  humility  and  holy  grief.  Filled 
with  deep  sorrow,  he  is  led  to  constant  prayer,  and  in  answer  to 
it,  receives,  by  the  grace  of  God,  joy  and  peace  in  bclieviug.  He 
does  not  sink  iuto  despair  at  the  sight  of  his  guilt,  but  is  filled  with 
an  hungering  and  thirsting  after  righteousness.     He  flies  from  the 

*  Scriptura  venalis  fertur  per  publicum.  Works  of  St.  Augustine,  Bish- 
op of  Hippo.     In  Psalm  36. 

t  Omnibus  posterioribusepiscoporum  litteris  esse  praeponendum. 

j  Works  of  St.  Augustine,  Bishop  of  Hippo.  Epistola  de  baplismo  con- 
tra Donatistas;.t.  9,  p.  98. 

^  Ibi  discutiamus  causam  nostram. 

II   Ibid.     De  unitate  ecclesiae,  p.  341. 

t  Works  of  St.  Augustine,  Bishop  of  Hippo.  De  doctrina  Christiana  ; 
L.  I.,  c.  35. 


236  A    VOICE    FROM    ANTIQUITY. 

allurements  of  worldly  and  perishable  pleasures,  and  a  love  for 
that  Avhich  is  unseen  and  eternal  is  kindled  Avithin  him."* 

This  is  the  fourteenth  voice.  Lord,  enable  us  to  imderstand 
these  words  ! 

XVIII. 

SONS    OF    MEN  !    READ    THE    BOOK. 

A  hermit  descended  from  the  mountains  near  Antioch.  He 
lifted  up  his  voice  in  that  metropolis  of  Asia,  and  ears  and  hearts 
were  thrilled  by  his  discourses.  The  imperial  court  soon  resound- 
ed with  his  name,  and  he  was  called  to  the  patriarchal  chair  of 
Constantinople,  the  new  Rome,  the  capital  of  the  world,  which 
crowned  with  splendor  the  banks  of  the  Bosphorus. 

Who  of  all  the  children  of  men  spoke  like  him  ? 

A  multitude  hung  upon  his  words;  the  poor  were  consoled  ; 
the  great  astonished;  and  the  Gospel,  by  his  indefatigable  exer- 
tions, was  carried  to  the  barbarous  gentile  nations. 
'  But  suddenly  a  noise,  as  of  approaching  tempests,  was  heard 
in  the  palace  of  the  Emperors.  A  desolating  wintry  wind  sweeps 
howling  from  the  magnificent  dwelling  of  the  haughty  Eudoxia. 
He  casts  out  the  patriarch  from  his  seat ;  he  banishes  him  to  the 
desert ; — and  there,  an  exile  in  a  barbarous  land,  consumed  by 
fever,  as  he  is  dragged  onward  by  the  satellites  of  the  Emperor, 
he  dies  in  the  grasp  of  the  soldiers,  exclaiming  triumphantly, 
"  Glory  be  to  God  !"  The  people,  charmed  by  his  eloquence,  had 
given  him  the  name  of  St.  Chrysostom  (A.  D.  400),  or  the  Golden- 
Mouth. 

Oh  !  if  the  patriarch  of  Constantinople  could  speak,  at  this  mo- 
ment, to  the  aged  man  by  his  fire-side— to  the  young  man  in  his 
fields — to  the  noble  in  his  palace — to  the  man  of  business  in  the 
midst  of  his  sales  and  purchases — to  the  priest  among  his  presby- 
tery, and  to  the  mother  in  her  nursery — what  would  he  say  to 
you  all,  rich  in  this  world's  goods,  who  have  all  things,  except 
the  Word  of  God,  or  -who  have  it  merely  as  an  ornament  on  the 
shelves  of  your  libraries  .'  Listen !  The  Golden-mouth  says — 
"  There  are  dice  to  be  found  in  most  houses,  but  Bibles  in  few,  if 
any ;  and  those  who  have  them,  are  as  if  they  had  them  not,  for 
they  keep  them  magnificently  bound,  and  shnt  up  in  cases  ;  and 
own]  them,  not  for  the  benefit  they  may  draw  from  them,  but  to 
display  their  taste  and  opulence.  It  was  not  for  the  purpose  of 
shutting  them  up  in  rich  covers  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  Avere 
given  us,  but  to  be  engraven  upon  our  hearts."! 

What  would  the  patriarch  say  to  you,  men  of  the  world,  Avho 
ask,  "  How  can  Ave  be  expected  to  read  the  Word  of  God?  The 
multiplicity  of  our  public  and  private  affairs  leaA^es  us  no  time  for 
such  a  purpose." 

*  Works  of  St.  Augustine,  L.  II.,  c.  7. 

■\  Works  of  St.  John  Chrysostom,  Archbishop  of  Constantinople.  Homil. 
Johan,  32  Savil.  II.,  p.  686. 


A    VOICE    FROM    ANTIQUITY.  237 

Listen  to  the  Golden-Mouth.  "  Is  not  the  very  fact  a  reproach 
to  yovT,  that  you  have  allowed  yourselves  to  become  so  absorbed 
in  earthly  things,  that  you  have  no  leisure  left  for  the  most  impor- 
tant and  indispensable  of  all  ?  But  we  have  witnesses  who  declare 
that  to  be  merely  a  vain  excuse.  These  witnesses  are  your  gay 
social  assemblies,  your  presence  at  the  theatre,  and  at  other  pub- 
lic places,  where  you  sometimes  spend  whole  days."* 

Listen,  men  in  humble  life,  whether  in  the  city  or  the  country, 
to  what  the  Golden-Mouth  says  to  you — you  who  say,  "  We  are 
poor,  how  can  we  obtain  a  Bible  .'"  •'  Let  me  ask  you,"  he  says, 
"  if  you  have  not  all  the  implements  necessary  for  your  occupa- 
tion ?  And  is  it  not  in  that  case  folly  to  allege  poverty  as  an  ex- 
cuse, in  a  question  of  such  immense  advantage. "t 

To  you  who  affirm  that  "  the  readmg  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  be- 
longs to  the  clergy  and  the  priests,  and  that  laymen  have  nothing 
to  do  with  them,"  the  venerable  patriarch  says :  listen  to  him  of 
the  Golden-Mouth  — 

"  Let  no  one  utter  in  my  presence  those  cold  and  wicked  words, 
'  I  am  a  man  of  the  world  ;  1  have  a  wife  and  children  ;  it  is  not 
nay  business  to  read  the  Bible  ;  such  an  occupation  becomes  those 
who  have  renounced  the  world  to  lead  a  life  of  seclusion  with 
God.'  What  sayest  thou,  oh  man  !  Is  it  not  thy  business  to  ap- 
ply thyself  diligently  to  the  Scriptures,  because  thou  art  driven 
and  tossed  by  ten  thousand  conflicting  cares  !  Precisely  the  re- 
verse ;  it  is  much  more  needful  for  thee  than  for  those  of  whom 
thou  dost  speak.  Far  from  the  field  of  battle,  they  receive  few 
wounds,  but  thou  who  art  always  on  the  scene  of  combat,  art  in- 
cessantly wounded  anew,  and  hast  consequently  need  of  many 
more  remedies  to  cure  thee.  Let  us  not  delay,  then,  to  obtain  a 
Bible,  lest  we  meanwhile  receive  a  mortal  stroke.  Let  us  not  heap 
up  gold,  but  let  us  collect  Bibles  :  the  very  sight  of  that  holy  Book 
makes  us  shudder  at  our  sinfulness.  What  then  will  it  be,  Avhen, 
from  a  diligent  reading  of  it,  our  souls  sliall  have  become  living 
stones  in  the  temple  of  our  God  .'"t 

For  you  who  say  that  the  Bible  cannot  be  understood  by  all ; 
that  it  was  made  for  the  priests,  and  for  the  deeply  learned  ;  but 
that  the  mass,  the  artisans  and  laborers,  cannot  comprehend  its 
sense  ; — the  patriarch  has  a  word  also.  "  The  grace  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  has  caused  these  holy  books  to  be  written  by  publicans,  by 
fishermen,  by  tent-makers,  by  shepherds,  by  herdsmen,  by  the 
illiterate,  for  the  express  purpose  that  no  person,  however  igno- 
rant, might  have  recourse  to  that  pretext  for  not  reading  them ; 
that  the  contents  of  the  Scriptures  might  be  intelligible  to  all,  and 
that  the  laborer — the  servant — the  poor  widow — the  most  igno- 
rant of  men,  might  draw  instruction  from  them.  Destined  to  be 
teachers  of  the  whole  world,  these  sacred  writers,  who  were  in- 
spired by  the  Holy  Si^irit,  have  made  known  all  things  in  a  clear 

*  Works  of  St.  John  Chrysostom,  Archbishop  of  Constantinople.  Homil. 
Johan.  32  Savil.  II.,  p.  686. 

t  Ibid.,  Homil.  9,  in  Johan.  J  In  Lazarum  Cone.  3. 


238  A    VOICE    FROM    ANTIQUITY. 

mid  distinct  mariner,  for  the  express  purpose  that  each  one  might 
understand  them,  for  himself,  without  finding  it  necessary  to  have 
recourse  to  another.  "  I  come  not  (to  you),"  said  St.  Paul,  "  with 
excellency  of  speech  or  of  wisdom."  (1  Corinthians  ii.  1.)  Take 
the  Bible  in  your  own  hands — read  ;  retain  firmly  what  you  un- 
derstand ;  read  over  many  times  what  seems  to  you  obscure  ;  and 
then,  if  repeated  study  fails  to  make  it  clear  to  you,  ask  the  assist- 
ance of  a  more  enlightened  brother,  or  of  a  teacher.  God,  who 
sees  your  zeal,  will  not  allow  your  efforts  to  be  fruitless.  And 
even  should  no  man  make  known  to  you  what  you  seek,  God  liimself  will 
reveal  it  to  you  in  his  own  good  time  and  manner." 

"  Remember  the  '  Eunuch  of  great  authority'  under  the  Queen 
of  Ethiopia.  (Acts  viii.)  He  read  as  he  journeyed,  seated  in  his 
chariot.  He  had  no  one  to  explain  to  him  what  he  read  ;  but  God 
saw  his  zeal,  and  sent  him  a  teacher.  True,  we  have  no  longer  a 
Philip,  but  we  have  the  Holy  Spirit  still  who  inspired  Philip." 

This  is  the  last  voice.  Lord,  enable  us  to  understand  these 
words ! 

XIX. 

Thus  .spoke  those  holy  men  who  stood  foremost  in  the  ranks  of 
the  Redeemer's  service  on  earth,  and  who  have  now  sat  down  in 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  with  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob. 

Who  Avill  dare  to  contradict  what  they  have  spoken .'  Who 
would  blacken  the  memory  of  the  confessors  of  Christ?  Who 
would  dishonor  the  ashes  of  his  martyrs  ? 

Soldier,  who  hast  taken  arms  that  thy  countrymen  may  enjoy 
in  peace  the  fruits  of  their  labor  ;  husbandman,  who  at  night-fall 
dost  leave  thy  fields  and  bend  thy  weary  steps  towards  thy  cot- 
tage home  ;  artisan,  who  remainest  in  thy  shop  while  thy  com- 
panions are  Avasting  their  time  and  energies  in  folly ;  merchant, 
before  the  hour  of  business  ;  magistrate,  before  the  hour  of  duty  ; 
woman,  in  the  quiet  of  the  sanctuary  of  home  :  young  man,  daz- 
zled by  the  illusions  of  the  present ;  king,  upon  thy  throne  ;— 
beggar,  by  the  way-side ;  listen,  all,  to  the  counsels  of  the  saints 
of  the  most  High  God  ;  their  wise  admonitions  reach  you  across 
the  vast  space  of  many  ages.  Read  !  read !  read  !  the  Word 
of  God. 

XX. 

Lord,  if  another  voice  than  thine  or  than  that  of  thy  servants 
appealed  to  me ;  if  though  while  upon  earth  thou  didst  say 
"  search  the  Scriptures,"  other  voices  tell  me,  "  shut  them  from 
sight,  cast  them  away — burn  them,"  what  should  I  do.  Lord  .' 

And  I  seemed  to  hear  a  whisper  escaping  from  the  leaves  of 
the  holy  volume  before  me,  and  sAvell  into  a  strong  voice  "  as 
the  sound   of   many  waters,"  saying,  "  though  an  angel  from 

HEAVEN  PREACH  ANY  OTHER  GoSPEL  UNTO  YOU  THAN  THAT  WHICH 
WE   HAVE  PREACHED   UNTO   YOU,    LET    HIM    BE   ACCURSED."*   GalatiailS 

*  (Licet  angelus  de  caslo  evangelizet  vobis  praeter  quam  quod  evangeli- 
zavimus  vobis,  anathema  sit.     Vulgate.) 


A    VOICE    FROM    ANTIQUITY.  239. 

i.  8.  And  I  replied,  "  What  wilt  thou  say,  then,  oh  Lord,  to 
those  who  oppose  the  reading  of  Thy  Word  by  Thy  people ; 
who  forbid  them  to  obtain  it,  who  demand  it  from  them  when 
they  own  a  copy,  or  order  them  to  cast  it  into  the  fire  ?"  And  I 
seemed  to  hear  again  a  solemn  response  from  the  pages  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures  before  me  in  these  words,  "  Wo  unto  you, 
Scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites,  for  ye  shut  up  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  against  men;  for  ye  neither  go  in  yourselves,  neither 
suffer  ye  them  that  are  entering  to  go  in  !"* 

XXI. 

There  is  a  certain  place,  whether  a  city,  a  village,  or  a  hamlet, 
I  shall  not  say,  in  a  country  which  shall  be  nameless.  Its  inha- 
bitants desjMse  the  Word  of  God;  they  will  not  read  it;  they 
will  have  none  of  it:  and  every  copy  that  could  be  found  they 
have  seized  and  torn  up  or  burned. 

What  has  been  the  consequence  ?  Falsehood  prevails  there  ; 
hatred  has  engendered  quarrels  among  neighbors ;  they  eat  the 
bread  of  wickedness,  and  drink  the  wine  of  violence :  idleness 
has  brought  them  to  poverty  ;  and  famine  stalks  abroad  in  their 
streets.  "  Away  Avith  the  noise  of  your  5ongs,"  said  the  Almigh- 
ty, "  I  will  not  listen  to  the  music  of  your  flutes.  This  people 
have  fallen  for  want  of  Avisdom,  and  their  paths  have  gone  down 
unto  the  dead." 

There  is  another  place — whether  a  city,  a  village,  or  a  hamlet, 
I  shall  not  say — in  a  country  which  shall  also  be  nameless. 

The  yoimg  men  there  have  sought  for  the  Word  of  God  ;  those 
of  mature  years,  too,  read  it :  the  aged  meditate  upon  it.  A  man 
clothed  in  black  stands  among  them  ;  he  is  venerable  in  his  ap- 
pearance, and  benevolence  illuminates  his  features;  they  [call 
him  pastor.  He  says,  "  My  children,  take  the  Bible — read  it — it 
is  the  Word  of  God  ;"  and  they  follow  his  precepts. 

My  heart  bounded  with  thankfulness  as  I  gazed  on  that  happy 
scene ;  for  I  saAv  the  people  prospering,  because  the  blessing  of 
the  Lord  rested  upon  their  dwellings.  Their  bams  were  filled 
with  plenty,  and  their  presses  burst  out  with  new  wine.  Their 
ways  were  ways  of  pleasantness,  and  all  their  paths  were  peace. 
The  divine  Word  had  become  a  tree  of  life  to  all  who  had  laid 
hold  on  it ;  and  all  who  retained  it  were  richly  blessed. 

A  soul  lies  surrounded  with  the  terrors  of  deatli,  with  the  sobs 
and  tears  of  a  family  mourning  in  deep  bitterness  ;  the  glory  of 
hfe  is  passing  rapidly  away,  yet  that  soul  abides  in  unutterable 
peace,  and  seems  a  triumphant  victor  over  the  grave  !  How  can 
this  be  ?  Because  it  has  believed  the  assurance  of  the  Gospel. 
Jesus  is  "  the  Lamb  of  God  who  takelh  away  the  sins  of  the  world." 

Why  is  this  soul  carried  in  the  arms  of  angels,  amidst  innume- 

*  Vae  autem  vobis  scribae  et  Pharisaei  hypocritae;  quia  clauditis  reg- 
num  cselorum  ante  homines ;  vos  enim  non  intratis,  nee  introeuntes  sini- 
tis  intrare.    (Vulgate)  Matthew  xxiii,  13.  ' 


240  A    VOICE    FROM    ANTIQUITY. 

rable  worlds,  up  to  the  bosom  of  God  ?  Why  does  it  see  God, 
face  to  face,  having  awakened  in  His  Ukeness  ?  Because  it  has 
believed  the  Word  of  God  which  says,  Jesus  is  "  the  way,  and 
the  truth,  and  the  life :  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by 
Him." 

"  Yes,"  says  the  Spirit,  "  blessed  is  the  man  whose  delight  is  in 
the  law  of  the  Lord ;  and  in  his  law  doth  he  meditate  day  and 
night." 

And  all  the  saints  and  the  angels  in  light  reply  :  "  He  shall  be 
like  a  tree  planted  by  the  rivers  of  water,  that  bringeth  forth  his 
fruit  in  his  season ;  his  leaf  also  shall  not  wither,  and  whatsoever  he 
doeth  shall  prosper."*  All  celestial  intelligences  respond,  "Amen !" 
And  all  unite  in  the  ascription,  "  Glory  be  ,to  the  Father,  and  to 
the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  it  was  in  the  beginning,  is  now, 
and  ever  shall  be,  world  without  end.     Amen !" 

•  Psalm  i. 


LUTHER  AID  CALVIN; 


TRUE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  REFORMED  CHURCH. 


PREFACE. 


This  address  was  delivered  June  6th,  1844,  at  the  General  Meet- 
ing of  the  Evangelical  Society  of  Geneva.  The  Rev.  Frederic 
Monod,  deputy  from  the  Evangelical  Society  of  France,  afterwards 
addressed  the  meeting,  and  iu  concluding  spoke  as  follows:  "I 
should  not  do  justice  to  my  feelings,  if,  before  sitting  down,  T  did 
not  pray  the  committee  of  this  Society  to  take  into  consideration, 
whether  it  would  not  be  for  the  interest  of  the  work  of  God  in 
France,  to  have  the  address  of  our  brother  M.  Merle  printed 
separately,  and  circulated  extensively  among  our  churches.  The 
evil  pointed  out  in  this  address,  is  an  evil  which  menaces — which 
advances  on  us  more  every  day,  and  I  know  of  nothing  more 
suited  to  point  it  out,  and  consequently  also  to  combat  it."  (See 
Report.)  It  is  in  compliance  with  this  request  that  this  address, 
which  is  not  given  in  the  Report,  is  published  by  the  author  in 
France,*  and  he  feels  himself  constrained  to  add  two  remarks  : — 
First,  the  following  pages  were  never  intended  for  publicity  of 
this  description  ;  being  nothing  more  than  notes  thrown  rapidly 
together  on  the  paper.  Again,  very  far  from  exhibiting  a  new  and 
particular  idea,  as  some  people  have  supposed,  they  verify  or 
prove  an  ecclesiastical  fact,  a  fact  which  has  long  been  recognized 
by  the  most  respectable  authorities,  as  could  easily  have  been 
shown,  had  it  not  been  thought  necessary  to  be  sparing  of  quota- 
tions. 

*  The  address  was  published  in  the  origiaal  language  in  Paris.     See 
publishers'  Preface. — Tr- 


LUTHEE  AND  CALVIN; 


OR, 


THE  TRUE    SPIRIT   OF    THE    REFORMED    CHURCH 


Gentlemen  : 
The  times  are  pressing.  We  must  proceed  to  what  is  use- 
ful ;  and  not  lose  ourselves  in  much  speaking,  but  search,  accord- 
ing to  the  apostolic  precept,  for  what  may  truly  contribute  to  the 
edification  of  the  Church.  It  is  this  thought  which  induces  me 
to  bring  before  you  the  following  question : 

What  is  it,  in  our  French  reformed  churches,  that  has  charac- 
terized the  year  that  has  passed  since  our  last  anniversary  .' 

It  is,  unless  I  am  deceived,  the  manifestation  anew  of  principles 
which  have  often  been  designated  by  the  name  of  parties  opposed 
to  us,  but  of  which  from  the  heart  we  wish  to  speak  in  a  friendly 
style,  and  shall  therefore  call  them  (making  use  of  a  name  which 
is  dear  to  us)  the  principles  of  Lutheranism. 

Lutherauism  and  Reform*  have  distinctive  characters;  but  they 
are  not  separated  so  much  by  errors  as  by  diversities. 

God  Avilled  that  diversity,  that  the  work  of  the  Reformation 
might  be  complete.  His  powerful  hand,  intending  from  the  be- 
ginning to  cause  immense  bodies  to  move  round  the  sun,  endowed 
them  with  opposing  forces,  the  one  of  which  tends  to  take  them 
away  from  the  centre,  and  the  other  to  draw  them  closer  to  it. 
From  these  ajiparent  contradictions,  he  produced  the  course  of 
the  universe,  and  the  admirable  unity  of  the  celestial  system.  It 
was  the  same  in  the  times  of  the  reformation.  Opposing  tenden- 
cies were  necessary  for  that  work  ;  and  these  same  tendencies  it 
is  which  imprinted  upon  it  such  admirable  unity. 

"  In  the  garden  of  my  master, 
There  are  flowers  of  ev'ry  kind," 

sings  a  Christian  author.f     Shall  we,  gentlemen,  only  perceive 

*  It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  remind  the  reader  that  the  word  Reforma- 
tion applies  to  the  whole  work  of  the  19th  century,  and  the  words  Reform 
and  Reformed  apply  especially  to  the  work  of  Zwingle  and  Calvin. 

t  Tersteegen. 


246  LUTHER  AND  CALVIN. 

there  one  flower  ?  Ah !  let  ns  beware,  careless  gardeners  that 
we  are,  of  tearing  up  indigenous  plants  whose  nature  is  pecu- 
harly  adapted  to  our  soil,  to  our  climate,  and  of  planting  in  their 
stead  exotics  which  require  a  different  soil,  and  which  may  per- 
ish among  our  hands. 

Yes,  gentlemen,  let  us  comprehend  it  well ;  there  is  not  only 
friendship — there  is  not  only  agreement  between  Lutheranism 
and  Reform — there  is  more  tlian  all  that — there  is  unity. 

There  exists,  above  all,  between  them  a  profound  unity,  which 
results  from  both  being  animated  by  the  same  living  faith.  They 
believe  equally  in  the  complete  incapacity  of  man  to  do  good  ; 
they  believe  in  God  manifested  in  the  flesh  ;  in  expiation  by  his 
blood;  in  regeneration  by  his  Spirit;  in  justification  by  faith  in 
his  name  ;  in  charity  and  good  works  by  the  power  of  his  fellow- 
ship. 

But  it  is  not  this  unity  of  identity  of  which  we  wish  now  to 
speak.  We  go  much  farther.  We  propose  to  shoAV  that  Luther- 
anism and  Reform  are  one  even  by  their  diversities,  from  which 
we  shall  draw  the  conclusion,  that  in  place  of  effacing  the 
greater  part  of  these  differences,  and  more  especially  those  of 
Reform,  which  we  should  defend,  they  ought  to  be  carefully 
preserved.     Such  is  our  thesis. 

Yes,  gentlemen,  those  individuals  deceive  themselves  strangely, 
who,  knowing  how  to  reckon  the  very  different  characteristics 
which  at  the  present  day  distinguish  Lutheranism  and  Reform, 
would  cry  out  with  painful  surprise,  "  How  then  !  friends  fewer, 
enemies  more  !"  The  body  and  the  soul  are  very  different  in 
their  attributes,  nevertheless  they  are  but  one  single  being.  Man 
and  woman  have  quite  opposite  capacities  and  dnties,  and  not- 
withstanding they  are  but  one  flesh.  In  Christ  the  human  and 
divine  natures  were  certainly  distinct,  but  nevertheless  there  is 
only  one  Saviour.  In  the  same  manner,  gentlemen,  Lutheranism 
and  Reform,  though  very  different,  are  but  one  unity. 

Do  they  talk  of  their  strifes  ?  Ah!  gentlemen,  are  there  never 
then  strifes  between  the  body  and  the  spirit,  between  the  husband 
and  the  wife  ?  Did  none  exist  even  in  Christ  between  his  human 
and  divine  nature .'  "  My  soul  is  troubled,  and  what  shall  I  say  .' 
Father,  save  me  from  this  hour !"  cried  his  human  nature,  shudder- 
ing at  the  approach  of  the  cross.  Strife,  but  strife  overcome,  far 
from  being  contrary  to  unity,  is  essential  to  it,  at  least  upon  the 
earth.  I  believe,  gentlemen,  that  with  Lutheranism  and  Reform 
the  happy  moment  in  which  strife  is  overcome  and  unity  triumphs 
is  neary  arrived,  if  imprudent  friends  of  the  former  do  not  seek 
to  bend  the  latter  under  its  laws.  Observe  that  Reform,  which  is 
the  friend  of  proselytism,  does  not  proselytize  in  Lutheranism;  it 
loves  it,  respects  it,  and  leaves  it  to  its  own  strength,  or  rather  to 
God's.  But,  wonderful  to  be  told  !  it  is  Lutheranism  (certainly 
neither  that  of  Germany  or  Geneva),  it  is  Lutheranism  passive  in 
its  character,  ■  which  advances  heedlessly,  and  apparently  wishing 
to  deprive  us  of  our  patrimony,  and  to  suljstitute  itself  in  the  place 
of  the  tricentennial  work  of  our  reformers.    To  bring  about  unity. 


LUTHER  AND  CALVIN.  247 

is  it  then  in  reality  necessary  to  slay  one  of  the  two  members  ?  That 
may  perhaps  be  one  method,  but  it  is  not  onrs. 

Gentlemen,  Lutheranism  has  great  duties  to  discharge  towards 
Reform,  and  we  know  too  well  the  noble  principles  of  the  excel- 
lent men  in  Germany,  its  true  representatives,  not  to  be  assured 
that  it  will  not  fail  in  its  duty.  If  one  of  two  allied  and  friendly 
armies  were  to  be  beaten  and  dispersed  by  the  common  enemy, 
whilst  the  other  was  restuig  on  its  arms,  with  its  leaders  and 
standards,  would  the  latter  take  advantage  of  the  moment  when 
the  former  was  rallying,  but  still  stunned  with  the  blow  it  had 
received,  to  impose  its  colors  upon  it?  or  would  it  not  rather 
generously  aid  in  recovering  the  ancient  standard  of  its  fathers  ? 
This  is  what  we  require  from  Lutheranism. 

We  do  not  require  to  inform  you  that  we  have  not  the  slightest 
prejudice  against  Martin  Luther.  If  in  the  history  of  the  world 
there  be  an  individual  w^e  love  more  than  another,  it  is  he.  Calvin 
we  venerate  more,  but  Luther  we  love  more.  Besides,  Luthei'an- 
ism  is  of  itself  dear  and  precious  in  our  eyes,  and  with  reason. 
In  Reform  there  are  principles  of  which  we  should  be  afraid,  were 
it  not  for  the  counter-balance  of  Lutheranism ;  and  there  are  also 
in  Lutheranism  principles  Avhich  would  raise  our  alarm,  were  it 
not  for  the  counter-balance  of  Reform.  Luther  and  Lutheranism 
do  not  possess,  even  in  Germany — even  in  Wittemberg — friends 
and  admirers  more  ardent  than  we. 

But  if  the  question  be  placed  before  us  :  "  Ought  Reform  to  give 
way  in  France,  in  Switzerland,  and  elsewhere,  to  Lutheranism  .'" 
we  answer  without  hesitation,  Most  certainly  not ! 

Nevertheless,  we  think  this  is  the  question  which  has  been 
placed  before  our  Churches  during  the  course  of  the  past  year. 

Has  this  question  been  replied  to  eveiywhereas  it  ought  to  have 
been  .'  We  believe  not.  Reform  is  misrepresented  even  within 
Reform.  Two  centuries  of  persecution  and  humiliation  have  caus- 
ed it  to  lose  its  fairest  traditions  ;  and  principles  to  which  it  is 
opposed  find  pious  and  eloquent  defenders.  There  are  in  its  bo- 
som distinguished  minds  that  hesitate,  that  are  irresolute  at  the 
moment  of  reveille,  and  who,  mistaking  one  voice  for  another, 
are  about  to  undergo  a  strange  transformation.  After  what  is  go- 
ing on  at  the  present  hour,  it  might  be  said  that  Reform  might  well 
institute  societies,  and  exercise  a  certain  external  activity ;  but  if 
principles  are  involved,  Lutheranism  ought  to  supply  them,  so  that 
it  only  remains  to  place  ourselves  under  its  tutelage.  A  banner 
of  three  centuries  old  is  treated  qs  a  novelty  and  an  innovation, 
and  colors  rejected  by  ten  generations  begin  again  to  flourish  here 
and  there,  in  this  Presbytery  and  in  that  Church;  and  this  society 
even,  composed  as  it  is  exclusively  of  the  Reformed,  is  almost 
giving  them  its  support.  There  are  countries  covered  with  elo- 
quent ruins,  sown  with  the  sepulchres  of  the  saints,  where  such 
thmgs  are  going  on,  and  where,  unless  they  are  arrested,  the  very 
stones  will  cry  out. 

Gentlemen,  we  believe  firmly  that  the  Reformed  French  and 
Swiss  do  not  require  to  beg  directions  from  a  stranger  Church,  and. 


248  LUTHER  AND  CALVIN. 

particularly,  from  a  Church  to  which  it  is  true  they  should  be 
united  hi  the  same  faith  and  charity,  but  which  does  not  know 
them,  and  which,  it  must  be  said,  notwithstanding  notable  excep- 
tions, has  often  been  found  awanting  to  them  in  justice  and  im- 
partiality. If  Reform  is  to  survive,  it  must  live  the  life  which 
befits  it.  In  its  own  traditions  it  possesses  abundance  where- 
withal to  produce  the  most  splendid  inspirations,  but  unfortunate- 
ly it  does  not  appreciate  them;  and,  in  place  of  exploring  the 
golden  mine  of  its  antiquity,  tliough  certainly  with  some  difficulty, 
and  with  the  sweat  on  the  brow,  it  prefers  receiving  from  hands 
eager  to  enrich  it,  a  coinage  already  struck,  but  struck  with  the 
stamp  and  the  arms  of  a  stranger. 

That  the  Reformed  Church  may  apply  herself  to  guard  the 
principles  which  God  has  confided  to  her  keeping,  she  must  first 
know  them.  What  are  they,  then  .'  It  is  to  the  searching  out  of 
these  that  we  shall  devote  this  address  ;  and  we  shall  only  ad- 
duce truths  recognized  these  three  centuries  past,  but  which  in 
our  days  seem  to  be  forgotten. 

A  great  mind,  the  penetrating  genius  of  Montesquieu,  already 
perceived  the  fundamental  diiference  between  Lutheranism  and 
Reform,  when  he  says  in  his  Spirit  of  the  Laws  {Esprit  des  Lois), 
"  Each  of  these  two  religions  may  think  itself  the  most  perfect : 
Calvinism  believing  itself  more  conformable  to  what  Jesus  Christ 
has  said,  and  Lutheranism  to  what  the  Apostles  have  done." 
Doubtless,  as  much  as  to  say  that  Reform  has  for  its  basis  the 
word  of  God,  and  Lutheranism  the  acts  and  usages  of  the  Church. 
This  distinction  has  much  profoundness  in  it,  and,  generally  speak- 
ing, even  truth. 

But  let  us  examine  these  differences  more  closely,  without, 
however,  attempting  to  enumerate  them.  Let  us  leave  aside  the 
specialties  of  doctrine,  and  in  particular  that  free  and  eternal 
grace  of  God  which  is  our  most  precious  jewel.  Let  us  neither 
speak  at  present  of  the  election  of  the  Father,  nor  of  the  manner 
in  which  the  divine  and  human  natures  are  united  in  the  Man- 
God,  nor  of  the  nature  of  the  Suj^per,  nor  of  the  doctrine  of  bap- 
tism, particularities  the  most  generally  known,  and  from  which 
all  others  flow ;  and  let  us  attend  specially  to  what  belongs  to 
the  Church,  for  it  is  the  Church  which  is  every  day  becoming 
the  greatest,  the  most  exciting  question. 

I.  The  Reformed  Church  lays  down  as  the  basis  of  Chris- 
tianity the  Scriptural  principle  that  the  Word  of  God  is  the  positive 
rule,  the  absolute  standard,  the  only  source  of  faith  and  Christian  life, 
whilst  Luther  lays  down  as  the  basis  of  his  reformation  a  princi- 
ple not  less  vulnerable,  but  quite  different;  faith,  justification  by 
faith. 

We  believe  it  was  w^ell  that  these  two  bases  were  established 
at  the  same  time.  The  combined  action  of  Lutheranism  and  Re- 
form, in  this  instance,  was  admirable;  that  of  Lutheranism,  in 
particular,  fills  us  with  the  profoundest  veneration.  Not  only  did 
Luther  and  his  friends  exhibit  the  fundamental  doctrine  of  justifi- 


LUTHER   AND    CALVIN.  249 

cation  by  faith  in  a  manner  still  more  marked  than  was  done  by 
Reform,  but,  we  must  assert  boldly,  if  they  had  not  done  it  there 
would  have  been  no  reformation.  Why  was  not  the  great  Re- 
formation accomplished  by  the  sects  of  the  middle  ages,  who  all 
started  from  the  same  principle  as  Reform  ?  Undoubtedly  for 
many  reasons,  but  above  all,  perhaps,  because  they  were  not 
penetrated  with  sufhcient  power  by  that  grand  thought,  that 
grand  doctrine,  of  which,  after  St.  Paul,  Luther  has  been  the  most 
faithful  promulgator. 

The  Reformation,  and  before  it  early  Christianity,  possessed 
two  fundamental  principles :  one  formal,  the  principle  of  Reform, 
one  material,  the  principle  of  Lutheranism.  Reform  requires  in 
addition,  faith ;  and  Lutheranism  the  Bible.  But  each  of  these 
two  principles  was  confided  separately  and  specially  to  the  care 
of  a  faithful  guard.  These  two  distinct  forces  were  destined  to 
traverse  the  new  world  created  in  the  sixteenth  century ;  and 
here  already  let  us  with  gratitude  admire  the  most  perfect  unity 
in  the  diversity  of  the  work  of  God. 

We  do  not  intend,  however,  to  justify  all  the  conclusions  to 
which  Luther  carried  his  principle.  Applying  it  to  the  Word  of 
God  with  a  hardihood  which  astonishes  us,  he  declares  in  the 
Preface  to  his  translation  of  the  New  Testament,  that  the  Gospel 
of  St.  John,  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  among  others  that  to  the  Ro- 
mans, and  the  First  of  St.  Peter,  are  in  truth  the  marrow  of  the 
Scriptures,  because  they  treat  especially  of  faith ;  he  e.stimates 
the  Go.?pels  under  the  Epistles,  and  makes  very  little  account  of 
the  Revelation  of  St.  John,  and  pronounces,  respecting  an 
Epistle  (that  of  St.  James)  a  well-known  saying,  but  one  which  I 
shall  not  repeat.  Rationalism,  which  shakes  or  revokes  all  the 
canonical  writings,  has  appeared,  and  in  my  opinion,  could  only 
appear  in  the  Church  of  Luther. 

Swiss  and  French  Reform  never  had  to  rei:)roach  itself  with 
such  a  disrespectful  walk.  On  the  contrary,  detaching  itself  from 
the  authority  of  the  Church,  it  ran  to  the  sovereign  authority 
which  the  Church  itself  has  always  proclaimed,  that  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures.  "  Abandoning,"  says  one  of  its  chiefs,*  "  the  decrees 
of  the  Popes  and  Fathers  of  the  Church,  I  came  to  the  source  it- 
self. My  soul  was  there  reinvigorated,  and  ever  since,  I  firmly 
maintained  this  principle  :  the  Holy  ScriiJtures  alone  must  be  fol- 
lowed, and  all  human  additions  rejected." 

"  The  Church  of  Christ,"  .said  the  Bernese  pastors,  in  the  famous 
dispute  which  decided  the  Reform  in  that  Canton  in  1528,  "in- 
vents neither  laws  nor  commandments  beyond  the  Word  of  God. 
For  that  reason,  all  human  traditions,  called  ecclesiastical,  are  only 
binding  upon  us  in  so  far  as  they  are  founded  on  and  commanded 
in  that  Word."  And  in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century 
one  of  the  reformed,  a  member  of  the  Church  of  England, 
Chillingworth,  the  chancellor  of  the  diocese  of  Salisbury,  the 
whole  of  whose   opinions  we  do  not  wish  to  justify,  but  who 

•  Wolfgang  Joner. 


250  LUTHER   AND    CALViN. 

having  been  a  Papist,  understood  well  what  ought  to  be  the 
essence  of  Reform,  tittered  this  beautiful  expression—"  The  Bible, 
the  whole  Bible,  nothing  but  the  Bible,  such  is  the  religion  of  the 
Reformed  Christians."  In  reality,  gentlemen,  let  us  remember 
that  the  Church  of  England  is  Reformed-— not  Lutheran.  It  is  so 
not  only  by  the  name  which  it  bears,  but  also  by  its  admirable 
Articles  of  Faith,  and  above  all  by  the  marked  homage  which  it 
renders  to  the  Word  of  God. 

This  principle  of  Reform  is  older  than  Luther's  views  ;  for  not 
only  was  it  that  of  the  primitive  Church,  that  of  Wickliff,  of  the 
Vaudois,  and  of  many  other  true  Christians ;  but  it  was  also  pro- 
claimed at  the  beginning  of  the  Reformation  in  1518,  by  Carlstadt, 
who  in  the  theses  in  which  he  attacked  Doctor  Eck,  says,  "  The 
text  of  the  Bible  must  be  preferred  not  only  to  one  or  several 
doctors  of  the  Church,  but  even  to  the  authority  of  the  entire 
Church." 

Everything  in  the  Reformed  Church  exhibits  this  great  principle, 
the  exclusive  authority  of  the  Word  of  God.  While  the  confes- 
sion of  Augsburgh  is  silent  upon  the  sole  authority  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, all  the  confessions  of  the  Reformed  Church  are  unanimous 
on  this  point.* 

Whilst  the  Lutherans  hold  by  the  apocryphal  books,  and  some- 
times take  their  texts  from  them,  the  Reformed  always  distinguish 
them  with  care  from  the  canonical  books ;  fight,  if  it  be  necessary, 
decisive  battles  on  their  account,  as  has  but  lately  been  done  by 
the  British  Bible  Society,  urged  on  by  Scotland,  that  eminently 
Reformed  country  ;  and  they  regard  it  as  a  matter  of  the  greatest 
importance  to  define  exactly  the  extent  of  the  Word  of  God,  and 
to  prevent  any  hiunan  words  from  creeping  into  it. 

Whilst  in  the  text  of  the  Lutheran  Bibles  no  distinction  is  made 
between  words  human  and  divine,  in  all  our  translations  of  the 
Scriptures,  on  the  contrary,  such  words  as  are  not  to  be  found  in 
the  original  text  are  printed  in  italic  characters,  so  that  the  reader 
may  be  able  to  distinguish,  as  far  as  that  can  be  done  in  a  transla- 
tion, between  the  word  of  man  and  the  word  of  God.  And  it 
may  be  said  that  the  version  of  the  New  Testament  published 
some  years  ago  at  Lausanne,  which  is  simply  and  purely  a  fac- 
simile of  the  text,  is  the  product  of  the  Spirit  of  Reform.  Such  a 
production  could  not,  I  believe,  have  been  given  forth  by  Luther- 
anisni. 

Reform  has  not,  however,  as  some  in  our  days  have  pretended, 
presented  the  Bible  as  a  volume  sufficient  of  itself,  no  matter 
what  doctrine  might  be  drawn  from  it. 

"  We  are  persuaded,"  says  the  Helvetic  Confession,  "  that  the 
sound  knowledge  of  the  true  religion  depends  on  the  internal 
illumination  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  We  only  regard  as  true  and 
orthodox,  those  explanations  which  are  derived  from  the  Holy 
Scriptures  in  conformity  with  the  analogy  of  faith  and  the  rules  of 
love." 

*  Confess.  Gallica,  art.  5 ;  Confessio  Belgica,  art.  5;  Confessio  Helvetica, 
art.  1  et  2 ;  Confessio  Anglicana,  art.  6 ;  Confess.  Bohemica,  art.  1 ;  West- 
minster Confession  (of  Scotland),  chap.  i. 


LUTHER   AND    CALVIN.  251 

Nor  is  it  any  more  true,  as  some  have  asserted,  that  Reform  has 
no  kind  of  tradition.  There  is  not  an  age,  nor  a  generation,  whose 
voice  Reform  does  not  wish  to  hear  and  by  which  it  is  not  ready 
to  profit — only  it  i^Iaces  always  the  great  voice  above  all  the 
little  ones ;  and  in  2^1ace  of  judging  of  the  sense  of  Scripture  by 
tradition,  it  judges,  according  to  the  jarinciples  of  the  Fathers,  the 
truth  of  tradition  by  Scripture. 

Such,  gentlemen,  is  our  First  principle, 

Reform  is  supremely  the  confessiou  of  the  Bible. 

There  never  is  to  be  found  among  us  an  esteem  of  men,  of  the 
servants  of  God  in  the  Church,  which  resembles,  as  it  has  been 
appropriately  designated,  a  Lutherolatry.*  Writings  are  never  to 
be  seen  with  us  like  those  published  in  Germany,  with  the  titles : 
Luther  a  -propliet — the  ■second  Moses — an  Elias — a  star — a  sun.  We 
have  no  other  prophet  than  Jesus  Christ,  and  no  other  sitn  than 
the  Bible.  And  Avhilst  for  a  long  time  all  sorts  of  relics  of  Luther 
were  preserved,  we  scarcely  know  where  the  great  Calvin  dwelt; 
there  is  not  even  a  little  stone  in  our  cemetery  to  mark  the  spot 
where  his  ashes  repose,  and  four  old  trees,  we  saw  five  or  six 
years  ago,  and  which  shade  tiie  ground  where  it  is  said  the  re- 
mains of  this  great  servant  of  God  were  interred,  have  been  cut 
down  to  give  room  !  .  .  It  is  doubtless  an  excess,  but  it  pos- 
sesses great  significancy.  It  recalls  to  our  memory  that  Calvin 
forbade  any  monument  to  be  erected  to  him,  because  he  wished 
the  Word  of  God  alone  to  be  honored  in  his  Church. 

Yes,  gentlemen,  the  rock  of  the  Word — such  is  the  basis  of  Re- 
form ;  we  know  no  other.  Let  other  churches  boast  of  their  eccle- 
siastical foundation  ;  we,  we  shall  only  boast  of  our  foundation  in 
the  Bible.  And  in  that  we  believe  otu'selves  more  truly  ecclesias- 
tical than  those  who  add  to  the  divine  rock  the  moving  sands  of 
human  traditions.  We  shall  not  abandon  this  foundation  at  any 
cost;  neither  for  the  Pope  nor  for  Luther.  What  do  I  say  .' — not 
even  for  our  Reformers.  Cursed  be  the  day  in  which  the  Reform- 
ed Church  shall  glory  in  being  the  Church  of  Calvin  or  Zw ingle. 
TJje  Bible — the  Bible— the  whole  Bible — nothing  but  the  Bible. 

We  have  seen  at  the  beginning,  that  the  principle  confided  to 
the  Lutheran  Church  possessed  in  the  days  of  the  Reformation,  an 
importance  at  least  equal  to  that  which  God  confided  to  the  Re- 
formed Church.  Which  of  these  two  is  the  most  important  in  our 
days  .'  I  dare  not  say,  gentlemen.  But  I  will  say,  however,  that 
the  principle  of  the  Bible  appears  to  me,  at  this  hour  at  least, 
equally  important  with  that  of  faith.  In  fact,  what  are  the  two 
great  adversaries  called  forth  to  engage  in  the  battle  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  ?  Evangelism  and  Church  ism.  And  how  are  we  to 
put  to  silence  Churchism  with  that  cloud  of  human  traditions  and 
human  works  by  which  it  is  surrounded  .'     By  the  Bible. 

If  we  hesitate  about  the  importance  of  the  principle  of  Reform, 
shall  we  not  be  convinced  by  all  those  voices  which  at  the  pre- 
sent hour  are  calling  out,  The  Church  !  The  Church  !  and  wish  to 
put  the  visible  Church  above  the  Word  of  the  Lord  ?     Shall  we 

*  French  Lutherolatrie,'a  word  formed  upon  the  same  principle  as  idol- 
at'-y. — Tr. 


252  LUTHER   AND    CALVIN. 

not  be  convinced  by  that  proud  pontiff  who  calls  us  Bible  sectari- 
ans,* by  that  audacious  mouth,  speaking  great  things,  as  is  said  by 
Daniel  the  prophet,  which  has  just  uttered  a  cry  from  the  depths 
of  the  magnificent  halls  of  the  Vatican,  and  who,  stretching  forth 
his  arm  with  fear  in  the  midst  of  his  Apollos  and  Venuses,  and  of 
all  those  trophies  of  paganism  by  which  he  is  surrounded,  has  just 
resounded  throughout  all  Christendom  that  word  of  terror  and 
alarm,  The  Bible  !  the  Bible  !  What !  gentlemen  !  would  he  who 
reveals  secrets  have  declared  to  him  in  the  watches  of  the  night 
what  was  about  to  happen  ?  would  he  have  shown  him  the  Bible 
at  the  gate  of  Italy  ?  or  above  Rome,  and  already  suspended  in 
the  air,  the  stone  cut  out  without  hands,  which  is  destined  to 
overthrow  his  ancient  statue,  and  to  lay  it  in  the  dust,  in  the  midst 
of  the  rains  and  debris  which  twenty  centuries  have  strewn 
around  it  ?  Ah !  gentlemen,  if  there  ever  was  a  time  when  Re- 
form aught  to  remain  firm  to  its  principle,  it  is  the  time  in  which 
we  live.  To  conquer  by  the  Bible  or  perish ;  such  is  the  futurity 
before  us. 

One  thing  among  others,  gentlemen,  alarms  me — the  state  of 
England.  Very  recently,  about  a  month  ago,  while  the  meetings 
connected  with  each  particular  church  (English  or  Dissenting), 
filled  the  vast  extent  of  Exeter  Hall  to  the  door — for  the  first  time 
the  meeting  of  the  Bible  Society  was  comparatively  thinly  attend- 
ed. I  would  not  willingly  deduce  from  that  fact  too  dark  canclu- 
sions ;  I  know  that  there  may  be  many  different  causes  for  it ;  but 
I  confess  that  on  reading  the  account  of  it,  a  shivering  seized  me, 
and  I  recalled  to  memory  with  sadness  ihe  words,  Ichabod  .'  Icha- 
bod .'    Is  then  thy  glory  departed  ? 

II.  If  the  Reformed  Church  places  the  word  of  God  in  such  a 
positive  manner  above  all  human  writings,  if  it  places  it  even 
above  faith,  it  places,  on  the  other  hand,  faith  above  the  Church. 
One  of  the  oldest  doctors,  Irenajus  of  Lyons,  has  already  noted  the 
grand  antithesis,  where  the  Spirit  is,  there  is  the  Cliurch — this  is  the 
principal  reform  ;  and  where  the  Church  is,  there  is  the  Spirit — this  is 
the  principle  of  Rome  and  of  Oxford  ;  and  also,  though  in  a  less  de- 
gree, thai  of  Lutheranism.  A  distinguished  theologian  who  occu- 
jiies  in  the  University  of  one  of  our  confederate  cities,  the  chair 
instead  of  Strauss,  I  refer  to  Doctor  Lange,  has  recently  revived 
this  antithesis,  by  turning  it  into  a  formula  thus  :  the  Church  comes 
from  Faith,  or  Faith  comes  from  the  Church.  We  do  not  hesitate, 
gentlemen,  to  assert,  that  these  propositions  are  both  true  in  a 
certain  sense,  if  the  visible  church  be  not  confounded  with  the  in- 
visible ;  for  there  is  a  wonderful  difference  between  Fahh  and  the 
Church.  Bnt  let  it  be  remembered  that  while  Lutheranism  places 
the  emphasis  upon  the  second,  and  says  specially  that,  since  the 
foundation  of  the  Church,  God  does  not  make  Christians  but  by  the 
Church  ;  Reform,  on  the  contrary,   places  the   emphasis   on  the 

*  Encyclical  Papal  Address,  the  day  after  the  Nones  of  May,  1844. 
[Portions  of  this  notorious  document  were  quoted  extensively  in  the  Jour- 
nals of  the  day. — Tr.] 


LUTHER   AND    CALVIN.  253 

first,  and  says,  that  faith  alone,  the  faith  which  God  has  put  mto 
the  heart,  creates  the  Church.  Thus,  Reform  does  not  say,  the 
Church  which  is  the  assembly  of  the  faithful  exists  first,  and  then 
each  believer ;  but  that  each  believer  exists  first,  and  then  the 
Church,  which  is  the  assembly  of  all.  Lutheranism  says,  first 
the  genus,  and  then  the  individual ;  Reform  says, first  the  individ- 
ual, and  then  the  genus.  I  am  quite  ready  to  give  reason  for  both ; 
but  I  add,  that  our  duty  is  to  maintain  the  principle  of  Reform. 

Wherefore,  gentlemen .'  Because,  if  we  say  in  an  absolute 
sense,  Faith  comes:  from  tlie  Church,  we  establish  by  that  the  very 
principle  which  leads  to  the  Inquisition,  andwhich  formerly  created 
it.  At  the  epoch  of  the  Reformation,  however,  in  a  time  when  for 
ages  preceding  they  had  stretched  upon  the  wooden  horse,  who- 
ever would  not  receive  his  faith  humbly  from  the  hands  of  the 
visible  Church,  it  was  necessary  the  renewed  Church  should  raise 
the  opposing  principle  to  a  lofty  elevation.  Reform  is  therefore 
here  in  diametrical  opposition  to  Rome  and  also  to  hyper-Luther- 
anism.  I  name  thus  that  extreme  Lutheran  orthodoxy,  which,  in 
the  days  oftheCalows  and  the  Quenstedts,  exaggerating  the  Lu- 
theran principle,  resuscitated  the  scholastic  method,  and  raised  the 
doctrines  of  the  Church  and  of  the  means  of  salvation  above  all 
others  ;  while,  on  the  contrary.  Reform,  remembering  that  it  is 
soul  by  soul  that  Christ  saves  his  peoi^le,  gives,  has  given,  and 
will  always  give,  the  first  place  in  Christian  theology  to  what  con- 
cerns the  individual  work,  the  regeneration,  the  justification,  the 
conversion  of  the  believer. 

Thus,  gentlemen,  what  distinguishes  Lutheranism  is  the  impor- 
tance given  to  the  Church,  the  whole  Church,  and  most  particu- 
larly to  its  ministers.  It  is  not  even  entirely  removed  from  that 
sacerdotalism  Avhich  is  the  essence  of  Rome  and  of  Oxford.  The 
Lutherans  are  not  afraid  to  give  their  pastors  the  name  of 
priests ;  and  in  a  celebrated  Practical  theology,  by  one  of  the  Ger- 
mans, whose  memory  is  most  precious  to  me,  Claude  Harm,  the 
prevot  of  Kiel,  one  of  the  parties  is  entitled  the  Preacher,  another 
the  Pastor,  but  a  third  the  Priest. 

Gentlemen,  this  much  was  still  necessary  for  our  unity.  The 
individual  element  of  Reform  might  have  brought  on  a  dis- 
solution and  a  dispersion  of  the  members  of  the  Church,  which 
would  have  been  fatal  to  the  whole  body,  had  it  not  been  re- 
strained by  the  ecclesiastical  element,  that  is  to  say,  excuse  the 
Avord,  the  gatherer  of  Lutheranism.  In  a  like  manner,  the  tenden- 
cy of  this  last  might  have  led  to  stagnation,  petrifaction,  and 
death,  had  it  not  been  restrained  by  the  active,  spontaneous,  vivi- 
fying element  of  Reform.  It  is  the  union  of  these  two  forces,  die  one 
centripetal  the  other  centrifugal,  which  has  launched  forth  a  new 
world  into  the  imiverse  of  God,  and  which  sustains  it  in  its  place. 

Shall  we  then  abandon  our  position  as  we  are  summoned  to 
do  .'  God  preserve  us,  gentlemen,  from  such  a  wicked  attempt 
on  the  eternal  decrees  of  his  providence  !  Let  us  not  look  to  one 
side  only  ;  I  pray  you  let  us  look  at  both,  and  embrace  the  whole 
magnificence  of  the  work  of  the  Lord.     If  they  be  Lutheran,  they 


254  LUTHER   AND    CALVIN. 

are  right,  quite  right,  to  appear  Lutheran.  Well  then,  but  if  they 
be  Reformed,  if  they  address  the  Reformed,  let  them  not  act,  let 
them  not  speak  as  if  they  were  Lutheran,  as  if  they  were  speak- 
ing to  Lutherans,  and  thus  contradict,  arrest,  destroy  the  element 
of  Reform,  even  in  the  bosom  of  Reform. 

We  shall  not  here  enumerate  all  the  excesses  to  which  a  too 
exclusive  application  of  the  Lutheran  principle  has  led.  Thence 
has  arisen  the  usur^iation  of  the  clergy,  the  excessive  authority 
of  the  pastor,  or  rather  of  the  confessor  (for  among  Lutherans 
each  believer  has  a  pastor  to  whom  he  gives  this  name),  so  that 
during  the  past  century,  these  confessors,  having  become  infidel, 
and  the  good  Lutheran  people  being  always  humbly  submissive, 
infidelity  spread  among  these  poor  Churches  with  inconceivable 
facility.  Some  Lutherans  have  even  asserted  that  we  ought  to 
keep  strictly  by  the  spiritual  guide  supplied  by  the  competent 
ecclesiastical  authority,  even  if  he  were  a  stranger  opposed  to 
the  faith !  Never  will  Reformed  Christians  recognize  such  a 
maxim.  They  will  ever  place  the  Bible  above  the  pastor,  and 
should  there  be  a  decided  disagreement  between  the  one  and  the 
other,  then,  rather  than  allow  themselves  and  their  children  to  be 
led  on  to  infidelity,  they  will  separate  themselves  from  their  pas- 
tor, and  take  refuge  under  the  Word  of  Christ.  In  so  doing,  they 
will  carry  the  Church  with  them,  and  leave  together  the  sect  and 
the  pastor. 

Further,  gentlemen,  from  this  Churchism  arises  the  different 
meaning  which  Lutherans  and  Reformed  attach  to  Church  con- 
fessions of  faith.  The  Lutherans  regard  them  as  rules  of  faith — 
norma:  normata — "  rules  regulated"  (by  the  Word) ;  and  they  have 
even  gone  so  far  as  to  affirm  that  their  authors  possessed  a  cer- 
tain kind  of  inspiration,  a  deutero-canonical  inspiration  as  the 
Roman  Catholics  say,  Avhen  speaking  of  the  Apocryphal  books. 
Among  the  Reformed,  on  the  contrary,  the  symbolical  books  or  con- 
fessions are  only  regarded  as  the  expression  of  the  faith  of  the 
Church.  Our  Chiu'ches  do  not  say  to  those  who  present  them- 
selves to  occupy  their  pulpits — believe!  btU  they  say — do  you  be- 
lieve ?  as  these  two  men  dear  to  us,  Cellerier  and  Gaussen,  set  it 
forth  twenty-five  years  ago,  in  the  true  spirit  of  Reform,  when 
reprinting  the  Helvetic  Confession  at  Gene-tta.  And  here,  gentle- 
men, although  to  another  amongst  us  this  privilege  by  right  be- 
longs, permit  me,  in  passing,  to  lay  with  respect  a  flower  upon 
the  tomb  of  that  faithful  servant  of  Jesus  Christ  who  was  taken 
from  us  a  few  weeks  ago,  full  of  days,  and  whose  glory  it  will 
remain  to  have  been  the  first,  after  a  century  of  infidelity,  to  raise 
in  our  native  country  the  standard  of  the  Gospel  and  of  Reform.. 

I  repeat  it  again.  Tke  Church  comes  from  faith,  before  that  faith 
comes  from  the  Church. 

Such  is  our  watchword.  And  who  will  dare  to  assert  that  the 
moment  has  arrived  when  we  ought  to  lower  this  banner  and 
range  ourselves  meekly  under  a  standard  presented  to  us  by 
others,  and  which  even  the  papacy  itself  raised  many  centuries 
ago  ?    If  it  be  our  brothers  who  believe  that  it  ought  to  be  done. 


LUTHER   AND    CALVIN.  255 

we,  we  say  it  decidedly,  we  will  not  do  it,  convinced  as  we  are, 
that  even  at  the  present  hour,  to  maintain  the  principle  of  Reform 
is  to  save  the  Reformation. 

But,  it  may  be  said,  if  the  maxim  that  faith  comes  from  the 
Church,  taken  absolutely,  leads  to  the  Inquisition,  the  maxim  that 
the  Church  comes  from  faith  leads  to  separatism. 

We  do  not  deny  that  that  would  result  from  the  excess  of  the 
principle,  and  that  this  excess  is  seen  in  our  days.  But  we  deny 
that  an  abuse  ever  overtiTrns  a  principle ;  no,  the  princijale  of  Re- 
form is  not  essentially  separatist ;  it  does  not  necessarily  flow 
from  it  that  Christianity  should  be  divided  into  thousands  of  sects. 
Doubtless  it  is  a  right  possessed  by  tlie  Christian,  it  is  his  duty,  as 
was  done  at  the  epoch  of  the  Reformation  (and  has  been  done 
since  then),  to  separate  himself  from  every  community  which 
does  not  confess  Jesus  Christ,  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  the  only 
justification  of  his  people.  But  to  make  separation  a  duty,  con- 
stantly to  be  renewed,  is,  according  to  Reform,  to  trample  under 
foot  a  numerous  class  of  passages  of  the  Word  of  God  ;  it  is  to 
call  forth  that  which  the  apostle  Paul  orders  to  be  rejected — 
"  strifes,  seditions,  heresies,"  Gal.  v.  20. 

"  I  say,"  thus  speaks  Calvin,  "  that  we  must  not,  under  the  pre- 
text of  minute  differences,  separate  ourselves  lightly  from  a 
Church  ui  which  the  fundamental  doctrine  of  salvation  is  preserv- 
ed entire,  and  in  which  the  sacraments  are  properly  administered 
according  to  the  institution  of  the  Lord." — (Christian  Institution, 
book  iv.,  chap,  i.) 

However,  if  we  must  choose  between  uniformity  and  error  on 
the  one  side,  and  diversity  and  truth  on  the  other,  Reform  will  not 
hesitate ;  it  ranges  itself  always  on  the  side  of  truth  ;  truth  is  its 
grand  aim. 

III.  But,  gentlemen,  and  this  third  characteristic  affords  a  tri- 
umphant answer  to  the  reproach  of  separatism  which  is  made 
against  Reform,  it  has  always  been  distinguished  by  the  Christian 
liberality  with  which  it  has  never  ceased  to  stretch  forth  the  hand 
of  brotherly  love  to  every  communion  which  has  preserved  the 
doctrines  of  salvation.  So  that,  whilst  the  spirit  of  sectarianism 
has  in  various  degrees  animated  other  Churches,  Reform  has  al- 
ways borne  on  its  forehead  the  seal  of  true  catholicity. 

1  shall  not  speak  here  of  the  sectarian  spirit  of  Rome,  nor  of  Ox- 
ford ;  these  are  facts  too  generally  known;  but  history  compels 
usto  recognize  this  spirit  even  in  Lutheranism.  The  Lutherans,  like 
the  Roman  Catholics,  have  always  wished,  not  to  unite  with  Re- 
form in  the  bands  of  brotherhood,  but  to  absorb  it. 

Exdusivcncss  is  a  character  of  Lutheranism.  Here  at  least  it  will 
be  said,  what  becomes  of  your  unity?  Yes,  gentlemen,  even  tins 
exclu.sivene.ss  is  necessary  to  it.  It  is  one  of  the  Avheels  which 
must  enter  into  the  construction  of  the  admirable  machine  pre- 
pared by  the  hand  of  the  great  Architect  three  centuries  ago.  Ex- 
dusiveness  is  essential  to  the  Church.  Who  was  more  exclusive 
than  he  who  said;  "  No  one  cometli  to  the  Father  but  by  me;"  and 


256  LUTHER   AND    CALVIN. 

again ;  "  without  me  ye  can  do  nothing."  The  Church  ought  to 
have  a  holy  jealousy  for  the  eternal  truth  of  God  ;  for  latitudinari- 
aaism  is  its  death.  The  history  of  all  ages  has  demonstrated  this 
fact,  and  nothing  could  demonstrate  it  more  clearly  than  the  his- 
tory of  our  own.  Tliis  exclusiveness  was  what  was  confided  to 
the  charge  of  Martin  Luther ;  and  although  he  deceived  himself 
by  carrying  it  out,  not  only  with  regard  to  fundamental  dogmas, 
but  also  \vith  regard  to  the  different  ways  of  understanding  the 
same  truth,  although  it  was  against  our  Reform  that  his  thunders 
were  directed,  I  love,  I  admire  Luther,  even  in  his  wanderings ; 
and  I  see  in  him  not  a.  furious  Orestes,  as  he  was  named  often,  even 
by  Bucer  and  Capito,  but  a  Prometheus,  who,  wishing  that  man 
should  raise  his  looks  to  heaven, 

— erectos  ad  sidera  tollere  vultus, 

and  in  order  to  animate  him,  having  stolen  fire  on  high,  Avas  pre- 
cipitated by  his  very  elevation,  and  saw  his  entrails  torn  by 
cruel  A'ultures.  "  Let  him  that  standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall .'" 
Luther  believed  that  the  corporeal  fpresence  of  Christ  was  God's 
truth,  and  he  went  out  of  himself — for  that  'truth. — Thou  didst 
well,  0  great  Luther  !  God  teaches  what  thou  didst  not,  to 
distinguish  what  is  true  from  what  is  not  true — what  is  essen- 
tial, from  what  is  secondary;  God  gives  us,  what  thou  didst 
not  know,  to  treat  with  mildness  those  who  differ  from  us  in  opi- 
nion !  But  God  grant  at  the  same  time,  as  with  thee,  that  the 
rights  of  the  truth  inspire  us,  and  the  zeal  of  God's  house  eat 
us  up. 

However,  here  again  I  cannot  justify  everything ;  for  history  is 
inexorable,  and  points  out  to  us  sad  excesses.  Here,  gentlemen, 
is  the  most  painful  part  of  our  task;  for  Luther  is  our  father  (I 
speak  after  the  manner  of  men),  a  father  whom  we  surround  with 
the  most  profound  veneration  and  the  most  filial  affection ;  the 
true  Lutherans  are  our  friends,  our  well-beloved  brethren — they 
are  of  those  with  whom  we  one  day  hope  to  sit  at  the  table  in  the 
kingdom  of  God.  If  then  their  opposition  cause  us  to  give  forth  a 
groan,  let  it  not,  at  least,  create  any  bitterness  in  our  heart.  Let 
us  rather  remember  that  the  violence  of  controversy,  far  from 
showing  us  to  be  enemies,  is  a  proof  of  the  intimate  bonds  which 
unite  us  to  Lutheranism ;  for  in  all  times,  and  on  every  subject, 
the  more  parties  agree  on  essential  points,  the  more  are  they  borne 
away  to  disagreement  on  those  which  are  secondary. 

It  was  Luther,  that  great  man  of  God,  who  marched  here,  as 
everywhere,  at  the  head  of  his  Church.  When,  as  early  as  1527, 
the  Reformed  requested  brotherly  love  and  Christian  concord,  he 
repUed,  "  Cursed,  even  to  the  lowest  depths  of  hell,  be  that  cha- 
rity and  that  unity."  He  himself  relates  to  one  of  his  friends,  that 
in  the  conference,  at  Marbourg,  convoked  by  the  Landgrave  of 
Hesse,  for  the  purpose  of  uniting  the  Lutherans  and  the  Reformed, 
Zwingle  being  moved,  approached  him,  shedding  tears  before  the 
whole  assembly,  and  saying :  "  There  are  none  on  the  face  of  all 


LUTHER   AND    CALVIN.  257 

the  earth  with  whom  I  so  much  desu-e  to  be  one,  as  with  the  Wit- 
tembergians ;"  and  that  he,  Luther,  repulsed  the  Zurich  reformer, 
answering :  "  Your  spirit  is  not  our  spirit !"  and  refused  to  call 
Zwingle  and  the  Swiss  his  brethren! 

Since  that  time  the  sectarian  spirit  has  never  ceased  to  exist  in 
Lutheranism.  In  1553,  wheii  the  unfortunate  Reformed  were 
driven  from  London  by  the  bloody  Mary,  they  were,  at  the  insti- 
gation of  Lutheran  theologians,  repulsed  cruelly  in  the  dead  of 
winter  from  the  walls  of  Copenhagen,  of  Rostock,  of  Lubeck,  and 
of  Hamburg,  where  they  sought  an  asylum.  "  Rather  a  Papist 
than  a  Calvinist,"  said  they  to  the  people,  "  rather  a  Mahometan 
than  a  Reformed."  And  on  a  house  in  Wittemberg  may  be  read  : 
"  The  sayings  and  writings  of  Luther  are  the  poison  of  the  pope 
and  of  Calvin."  They  called  their  cats  and  dogs  by  the  name  of 
Calvin  ;  and  published  books  with  titles  such  as  this  ;  "  Proof  that 
the  Calvinists  have  666  errors  in  common  with  the  Turks ;"  or 
this,  "  Short  proof  that  the  present  (1721)  attempt  at  union  with 
the  self-styled  Reformed  or  Calvinists  is  in  direct  opposition  to  all 
the  ten  commandments,  to  all  the  articles  of  the  apostles'  creed, 
to  all  the  petitions  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  to  the  doctrine  of  the  holy 
baptism,  to  the  power  of  the  keys,  to  the  holy  Supper,  and  to  the 
whole  catechism." 

In  a  Lutheran  Catechism,  of  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  we  read  this  question  :  "  Dost  thou  believe  then  fully  that 
the  Calvinists,  in  place  of  the  living  and  true  God,  honor  and  adore 
the  devil .'" — answer;  "  I  believe  it  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart." 
A  Lutheran  doctor,  still  living,  a  man  to  be  admired  for  his  piety 
and  his  zeal,  applied  to  the  Reformed  the  passage  from  St.  Paul; 
"  Be  not  unequally  yoked  with  unbelievers."  And  you  know  that 
the  Lutheran  missionary  societies  have  recently  broken  off  from 
Bale,  which,  nevertheless,  is  nearer  to  Lutheranism  than  any  other 
of  the  Reformed  churches.  What  shall  we  say  then  in  the  face  of 
these  excesses .'  We  shall  say  with  St.  Paul ;  "they  have  zeal 
for  God  without  knowledge  ;"  and  we  shall  add,  smiling  with 
Jerome  of  Prague,  when  he  saw  a  peasant  come  loaded  with  a 
large  bundle  of  wood,  and  place  it  at  his  stake  :  Sancta  simpli- 
citas  .'*  We  shall  also  repeat ;  Nevertheless,  nevertheless,  the  Lu- 
therans are  our  brethren  notwithstanding,  and  our  well-beloved 
brethren  ! 

Gentlemen,  a  spirit  of  conciliation,  of  union,  of  brotherhood,  has 
animated  our  church  in  every  age,  and  is,  perhaps,  its  brightest 
oruaraeiit.  ZAvingle,  (Ecolampadius,  Calvin,  Farel  never  ceased 
to  stretch  forth  the  hand  of  brotherhood  to  Luther  and  to  all  his 
friends.  Calvin  did  not  even  fear  to  say,  that  in  his  eyes  Luther 
was  far  above  Zwingle  ; — Nam  si  inter  se  comparantur,scis  ipse  qiianto 
intervallo  Lutherus  cxccdat-j  And  he  writes  lo  Bulhnger,  the  25th 
November,  1544;  "  I  imderstand  that  Luther  pours  out  atrocious 

*  Sacred  simplicity. — Tr. 

1  For  if  these  two  be  compared,  you  yourself  know  by  how  much  Luther 
excels. 


258  LUTHER   AND    CALVIN. 

invectives  on  you  and  on  ns  all.  I  dare  scarcely  request  you  to 
keep  silence.  But  I  supplicate  yoi;  at  least  to  remember  what  a 
great  man  Luther  is,  by  what  admirable  qualities  he  is  distin- 
guished, what  courage,  what  constancy,  what  ability,  what  power 
of  doctrine  there  is  in  him  to  beat  down  the  kingdom  of  antichrist, 
and  to  propagate  the  knowledge  of  salvation.  I  say  it,  and  have 
often  repeated  it,  even  though  he  called  me  Satan,  I  would  not 
cease  to  honor  him,  and  to  acknowledge  him  as  an  illustrious 
servant  of  God."  Gentlemen,  behold  these  beautiful  expressions. 
Let  Reform  never  forget  them  !  And  they  are  expressions  of  Cal- 
vin, of  that  man  who  is  represented  to  us  as  so  irritable  and  so 
proud. 

On  several  occasions  propositions  of  peace,  and  projects  of 
t;nion,  were  brought  forward  on  the  part  of  Reform.  The  Swiss- 
French  Reformed  above  all  exhibited,  in  this  respect,  an  unshaken 
perseverance.  At  the  moment  when  the  ultra-Lutherans,  West- 
phal,  Timann,  von  Eitzen,  and  many  others,  had  made  a  violent 
discharge  of  their  heavy  artillery  against  the  Reformed,  Calvin  and 
his  friends  appeared  on  the  field  of  battle,  in  the  midst  of  clouds 
of  smoke,  with  the  olive  branch  in  their  hand.  The  same  year 
(1557)  in  which  Theodore  Beza  and  Farel  visited  all  the  Swiss 
towns  to  excite  public  sympathy  in  favor  of  the  Vaiulois,  who 
had  been  cruelly  butchered  in  the  valley  of  Angrogne,  these  two 
Reformed  doctors,  extending  their  charity  out  on  one  side  and 
another,  entered  Germany,  and  there  exhibited  a  confession  of 
faith  of  the  Churches  of  Switzerland  and  Savoy,  with  the  intent  to 
unite  the  whole  Reformation,  by  showing  to  the  Lutheran  church- 
es that  they  also  were  brethren,  companions  in  arms,  in  the  war 
against  antichrist.  In  1631,  the  general  synod  of  Charenton,  near 
Paris,  took  the  lead,  and  effected  the  union  bypassing  a  resolution, 
in  which  it  was  declared,  "  that  the  churches  of  the  confession  of 
Augsburg  being  one  in  opinion  with  the  other  Reformed  ones  in 
all  the  essential  articles  of  true  religion,  the  members  of  their 
churches  may  present  themselves  at  the  holy  table  in  the  Reform- 
ed churches  without  any  previous  abjuration."  In  our  own  days, 
it  has  always  been  from  the  Reformed  that  the  propositions  and 
eiibrts  to  re-establish  a  true  union  in  the  church  have  come. 

And  wherefore,  gentlemen,  is  there  this  difference  between  Lu- 
theranism  and  Reform  ?  Doubtless  it  arises  in  a  great  measure,  as 
far  as  regards  Luther  and  the  Lutherans,  from  the  importance 
which  they  place  in  the  corporeal  presence  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the 
Supper;  from  that  unshaken  attachment  to  what  they  believe  to 
be  the  truth,  an  attachment  which  we  sincerely  respect ;  but  it 
flows  also,  it  must  be  said,  from  the  difference  which  we  have  for- 
merly pointed  out.  The  Biblical  tendency  of  Reform  ought  to  in- 
duce every  member  of  the^Reformed  Church  to  place  little  impor- 
tance on  ecclesiastical  ditferences,  much  on  Bible  truth,  and  con- 
sequently engage  him  to  stretch  forth  the  hand  of  brotherhood  to 
every  church,  to  every  individual  who  has  the  word  of  the  Bible. 
It  is  thus  that  from  good  principles  good  consequences  will  al- 
ways flow. 


LUTHER   AND    CALVIN.  259 

Gentlemen,  let  us  be  faithful  to  this  spirit  of  true  catholicity. 
Let  us  not  cease  to  recall,  both  to  ourselves  and  to  our  brethren, 
these  words  of  the  apostles:  "  one  God,  one  Lord,  one  Spirit,  one 
body."     Such  is  the  special  mission  of  Reform. 

IV.  If  Reform  be  possessed  of  great  breadth,  it  is  not  less  dis- 
tinguished by  true  depth.  It  is  not  only  a  Reformation  of  the 
faith  like  Lutheranism,  it  is  also  a  Reformation  of  the  life  ;  and  thus 
it  is  more  universally  Christian.  Lutheranism  is  certainly  free 
from  antinomianism :  Luther  himself  fought  against  it.  Never- 
theless, there  is  a  great  diflerence  in  the  manner  in  which  Luther- 
anism and  Reform  consider  the  law  ;  one  of  the  principal  of  which 
is  pointed  out  by  a  single  and  characteristic  trait.  In  the  Luther- 
an catechisms,  the  law,  the  ten  commandments,  are  placed  before 
faith,  before  the  fundamental  doctrines.  Their  use  is  to  convince 
man  of  sin,  and  bring  him  to  Christ.  In  the  Reformed  catechisms, 
on  the  contrary,  the  law  (considered  especially  in  the  precepts  of 
Christ  and  the  apostles)  is  j)laced  after  faith,  after  the  doctrines 
of  salvation,  as  the  expression  of  the  gratitude  of  the  child  of  God 
for  the  redemption  given  him  by  Christ.  The  law,  according  to 
Luther,  only  addresses  itself  to  the  unconverted,  or  at  most  to  that 
portion  of  the  faithful  not  fully  converted.  "According  to  Calvin,  it 
addresses  itself  also  to  the  faithful,  how  believing  soever  they 
may  be. 

Luther  accomplished  no  Reformation  of  manners ;  he  did  not 
even  attempt  it.  Not  certainly  because  he  did  not  consider  it  im- 
portant. "  How,"  wTote  he  to  the  Bohemian  brethren,  who  ex- 
horted him  to  establish  a  discipline  similar  to  theirs,  "  how  is  it 
possible  that  we,  who  live  in  the  midst  of  Sodom,  of  Gomorrah, 
and  of  Babylon,  can  make  that  order,  that  discipline,  that  pure 
life  to  prevail."  Luther  thought  that  the  Reformation  of  manners 
ought  to  flow  simply  and  Jiaturally  from  the  influence  of  sound 
doctrine. 

Let  us  here  remark  again,  gentlemen,  how  much  the  diversity 
of  Lutheranism  and  of  Reform  is  necessary  to  the  unity,  to  the  life 
of  the  Reformation.  Who  does  not  recognize  a  profoundly  Chris- 
tian truth  in  the  opinion  that  faith  itself  will  form  the  manners  ? 
Was  it  not  necessary  that  after  ages,  in  which  the  discipline  of 
the  Church  had  been  the  cause  of  numerous  vexations,  and  of  su- 
perstitions still  more  numerous,  there  should  be  a  protest  taken 
against  such  fatal  errors  .'  Was  it  not  neces.?ary  that  alongside  of 
the  power  of  Reform,  which  here  tends  to  bind,  there  should  be 
another  power  in  the  renewed  Church,  tending  unceasingly  to  en- 
large and  relax  .'  Was  it  not  necessary  that,  above  all  the  exer- 
tions of  man,  and  his  elibrts  "  to  recall  the  wanderers  and  to 
W'atch  over  the  heritages  of  the  Lord,"  there  should  be  a  finger 
pointing  to  heaven,  and  a  great  voice  proclaiming,  "  The  good 
shepherd  goes  before  his  sheep,  and  his  sheep  follow  him,  be- 
cause they  know  his  voice  .' " 

If,  however,  the  one  of  these  tlnngs  was  necessary,  the  other 
was  no  less  so.    The  work  of  Christian  vigilance,  of  pastoral  su- 


260  LUTHER    AND    CALVIN. 

perintendence,  was  confided  to  Reform  ;  and,  gentlemen,  we  are 
reformed. 

Zwingle  set  out  from  this  principle  :  '•  A.  universal  re-establish- 
ment of  life  and  manners  is  as  necessary  as  a  re-establishment  of 
faith."  Immediately",  at  Zurich,  at  Berne,  at  Bale,  ordinances  for 
regulating  manners  were  issued,  the  women  of  unchaste  life  were 
banished,  the  boarding-houses  and  the  hotels  were  suppressed ; 
aud  when  at  a  later  period  the  pope,  according  to  the  ancient  cus- 
tom, requested  troops  from  Zurich,  the  IZurichers  offered  him  as  a 
compromise  2000  monks  or  priests.  Would  to  God  we  sent  at  the 
present  day  no  other  Swiss  to  Rome  !  In  particular,  they  insisted 
on  the  manners  of  their  ministers ;  "  as  the  word  of  truth  is 
grave,"  says  the  ordinance  of  1532,  "  the  life  of  its  servant  ought 
also  to  be  full  of  gravity." 

But  it  was  in  Geneva  especially,  that  this  principle  was  realized. 
Calvin,  with  the  zeal  of  a  prophet  and  the  devotion  of  a  martyr 
who  submits  himself  unreservedly  to  the  stern  Word  of  God,  ex- 
acted from  the  church  imder  his  care  an  absolute  obedience.  He 
strove  hand  to  hand  with  the  libertine  party,  and  by  the  grace  of 
God  he  I'emained  the  stronger.  Geneva,  formerly  so  corrupted, 
was  regenerated,  and  displays  a  purity  of  manners,  a  Christian 
simplicity,  which  drew  from  Farel,  after  an  absence  of  fifteen 
years,  a  shout  of  admiration,  and  these  remarkable  words  :  "  I 
would  rather  wish  to  be  the  last  in  Geneva  than  the  first  anywhere 
else."  A.nd  fifty  years  after  Calvin's  death  Jean- Valentin  Andrese, 
a  fervent  Lutheran,  having  passed  some  time  within  our  walls, 
said,  on  his  return  ;  "  What  I  have  seen  there  I  shall  never  forget, 
and  I  shall  ardently  desire  to  attain  it  all  my  life.  The  fairest  orna- 
ment of  that  republic  is  its  tribunal  of  manners,  which  makes  in- 
quiry every  week  into  the  disorders  among  the  citizens.  Games 
of  cards  and  chance,  oaths,  blasphemies,  impurity,  quarrels,  ha- 
treds, deceits,  infidelities,  drunkenness,  and  other  vices  are  sup- 
pressed. Oh  !  but  this  purity  is  a  beautiful  ornament  of  Christi- 
anity !  We  (the  Lutherans)  cannot  shed  tears  enough  over  that 
in  which  u^e  are  awanting.  If  the  difference  of  doctrine  did  not 
withdraw  me  from  Geneva,  the  harmony  of  its  manners  would 
have  retained  me  there  for  ever." 

This  character  of  morality  was  not  confined  to  Switzerland  and 
Geneva ;  it  spread  into  France,  Holland,  and  Scotland,  into  every 
place  where  Reform  penetrated.  It  still  remains  in  some  of  these 
countries  ;  and  a  German  author,  M.  Gobel,  after  mentioning  that 
a  modern  traveller,  also  a  German,  could  not  find  in  the  Scotch 
churches,  which  he  visited,  a  single  instance  of  adultery  or  divorce, 
and  very  little  impurity,  exclaims  :  "  Let  them  compare  with  that 
the  horrible  immorality  of  Germany ;  in  the  country  as  well  as  in 
the  towns  let  them  only  interrogate  the  pastors,  and  they  will  be 
filled  with  astonishment  and  fear." 

Alas  !  gentlemen,  we  have  no  longer  any  reason  to  be  proud  ; 
these  manners  no  longer  exist.  I  do  not  say  that  there  was  not 
in  this  discipline  an  element  fitted  to  bring  on  its  destruction.  On 
the  contrary,  I  think  that  the  part  taken  by  the  state  in  this  order 
of  manners  necessarily  induced  its  fall.    I  reject  every  kind  of 


LUTHER   AND    CALVIN.  261 

Christian  discipline  exercised  by  magistrates  and  police ;  but  I 
believe  that  they  might  have  laid  aside  the  civil  power,  and  still 
preserved  the  strength  of  the  watch,  by  charity  and  the  Word  of 
God. 

They  did  not  do  so,  and  what  is  the  result  ?  Senebier  said ; 
"  the  prosperity  of  Geneva  was  for  a  long  time  the  fruit  of  the 
wise  laws  of  Calvin.  The  purity  of  our  ancient  manners  was  our 
boast;  and  it  could  be  shown  that  one  of  the  causes  of  our  mis- 
fortunes is  ihe  diminution  of  their  influence.  Thus  Rome  was 
lost  when  her  censors  could  no  longer  make  themselves  heard, 
and  Sparta  fell  with  the  reputation  of  those  who  were  charged 
with  the  care  of  making  her  virtue  respected."  If  Senebier  spoke 
thus  in  1786,  what  shall  we  say  at  the  present  hour  ? 

Ah !  gentlemen,  who  could  not  understand  what  was  said  by 
Montesquieu,  that  the  Genevese  ought  to  bless,  to  celebrate  the 
day  of  Calvin's  birth,  and  of  his  arrival  among  them  ?  But  what 
was  understood  by  the  profoundest  politician  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  the  Genevese  have  not  comprehended ;  instead  of  cele- 
brating the  birth  of  the  Reformer,  they  celebrate  and  cause  their 
children  to  celebrate  the  birth-day  of  a  famous  sophist,  an  ardent 
soul,  a  man  of  inimitable  talent,  but  who  sent  to  the  foundling 
hospital  the  sad  fruits  of  his  libertinism !  They  are  raising  a 
magnificent  statue  to  Jean  Jacques,  and  they  raise  none  to  Calvin. 
"  We  shall  do  it  in  Edinburgh,"  said  a  Scotch  doctor  to  me  last 
year;  "  it  is  Edmburgh,"  added  he,  "  which  is  now  the  metropolis 
of  Reform." 

Gentlemen,  the  re-establishment  of  faith  and  manners  in  Reform, 
that  is  the  statue  which  Calvin,  that  extraordinary  and  modest  man, 
would  have  desired.  Will  it  not  be  raised  to  him.'  And  if,  as  in 
Saxony  in  the  days  of  Luther,  a  too  strict  rule  be  at  present  inap- 
plicable, let  us  not  the  less  remember,  that  whoever  asks  for  the 
discipline  of  manners,  is  in  the  spirit  of  Reform,  and  that  it  is  the 
most  sacred  duty,  not  only  of  the  ministers,  but  of  all  reformed 
Christians,  to  strive  that  those  who  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
be  "  blameless  and  harmless,  the  sons  of  God,  without  rebuke,  in  the 
midst  of  a  crooked  and  perverse  nation,"  Phil.  ii.  15. 

V.  This  brings  us,  gentlemen,  to  the  fifth  character.  Reform 
possesses,  both  in  its  principle  and  its  course,  something  decided, 
of  which  Lutheranism  is  destitute.  The  principle  of  Lutheranism 
was,  to  preserve  in  the  Church  everything  that  is  not  condemned  by  the 
word  of  God ;  while  that  of  Reform  Avas,  to  abolish,  in  the  Church 
everything  that  is  not  prescribed  by  the  word  of  God.  Lutheranism  is 
a  Reformation  of  the  Church,  Reform  is  a  renewal  of  it,  or  the 
difference  may  be  indicated,  if  desired,  by  merely  changing  an 
accent:  Lutheranism  is  a  Reforwfltion,  Reform  is  a  Re-/ormation. 
Lutheranism  took  the  Church  as  it  was,  and  contented  itself  with 
effacing  its  blemishes.  Reform  went  to  the  foundation  of  the 
Church,  and  built  its  edifice  upon  the  living  rock  of  the  apostles. 
AVhilst  Luther,  when  he  heard  what  Carlstadt  was  doing,  writes; 
"  we  must  keep  in  the  middle  path,"  and  rise  up_,against  those 


262  LUTHER    AND    CALVIN. 

who  overthrow  the  images,  Carlstadt,  the  first  Reformed,  from 
1521  boldly  reforms  the  Church  of  Wittemberg,  of  which  he  was 
prevot,  abolishes  in  it  the  mass,  the  images,  confession,  fast  days, 
and  every  abuse  of  popery.  Zwingle,  almost  at  the  same  time, 
acts  in  a  like  manner  at  Zurich.  And  for  what  was  done  at  Ge- 
neva, I  shall  content  myself  with  transcribing  the  inscription  which 
was  for  nearly  three  centuries,  from  1536  to  1798,  fixed  upon  the 
walls  of  our  Hotel  de  Ville,  and  which  expresses  better  than  we 
can  do  the  marked  character  of  Reform.  It  ought  to  have  been 
restored  since  the  Jubilee  of  1835,  and  placed  in  the  Church  of 
St.  Peter  ;*  but  that  has  not  been  done.     Here  it  is  : — 

"In  the  year  1536,  the  tyranny  of  Roman  antichrist  hav- 
ing BEEN  OVERTHROWN,  AND  ITS  SUPERSTITIONS  ABOLISHED,  THE 
MOST  HOLY  RELIGION  OF  JeSUS  ChRIST  WAS  RE-ESTABLISHED  HERE 
IN  ITS  PURITY,  AND  THE  CHURCH  IN  A  BETTER  ORDER,  BY  THE  EX- 
TRAORDINARY   FAVOR  OF  God.     And  at  the  same  time,  the  city 

ITSELF     having     REPULSED     AND     PUT     ITS     ENEMIES     TO    FLIGHT,    WAS 

freed,  not  without  a  biarked  interposition  of  providence. 
The  Genevese  council  and  people  have  raised  this  monument, 
that  the  memory  of  these  events  might  be  perpetuated,  and 
that  a  testimony  of  their  gratitude  to  god  might  be  handed 
down  to  their  posterity." 

What  has  been  the  result  of  this  difference  of  character  between 
Lutheranism  and  Reform  ? 

Two  very  distinct  courses,  and  which,  we  notice  here  again, 
have  each  their  good  side.  The  course  of  Lutheranism  is  de- 
fensive, successive ;  the  course  of  Reform  is  offensive,  conquer- 
ing. To  Lutheranism  belongs  the  principle  of  resistance,  of  pas- 
siveness  ;  to  Reform  the  principle  of  movement  and  of  life. 

Gentlemen,  is  it  necessary  to  remind  you  how  important  these 
two  tendencies  are  to  the  prosperity  of  the  church  .'  Must  I  in- 
sist upon  this,  that  in  every  well-constituted  community,  the  im- 
mobility of  principles  must  be  united  to  the  mobility  of  life  ? 

There  is  not  even  a  family  in  which  two  opposing  tendencies 
are  not  to  be  found.  The  decided  and  imposing  authority  of  the 
father  must  be  accompanied  by  the  more  conciliating  and  more 
indulgent  tenderness  of  the  mother.  The  same  in  a  political 
state,  the  conservative  and  the  liberal  element  must  always  ex- 
ist. An  exclusive  immobility  leads  to  violence,  to  hatred,  to 
revolution  ;  has  not  Charles  X.  taught  us  this  much  .'  An  exces- 
sive mobility  leads  to  fickleness,  superficialitij,  agitation,  pride  ;  is 
there  not  a  nation  which  shows  us  this  .'  These  two  elements  are 
so  indispensable  to  the  life  of  the  whole  body,  that  if  by  any 
means  you  should  destroy  one  of  them,  it  would  re-appear  im- 
mediately after.  In  France,  in  1830,  the  old  conservatives  being 
thrown  out,  those  who,  during  fifteen  years,  had  played  the  part 
of  liberals,  became  conservatives  themselves. 

And  what  is  necessary  in  the  state,  what  is  necessary  even  in 
every  family,  you  do  not  wish  in  the  church !  You  wish  by 
some  revolution  to  eject  one  of  these  elements  !     Impotent  con- 

*  The  Church  in  which  Calvin  preached. — Tk. 


LUTHER    AND    CALVIN.  263 

spirators  ! — even  were  you  able  to  destroy  the  element  of  Reform, 
you  would  be  compelled  to  become  Reformed  yourselves ! 

But,  doubtless,  Lutheranism  suffered  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
for  having  pushed  its  principle  to  an  extreme.  Divided  between 
the  Bible  and  the  church,  between  what  it  wished  to  take  away, 
and  what  it  wished  to  preserve,  it  had  a  difficult  and  uncertain 
course  to  pursue ;  its  Reformation  was  never  able  to  reach  the 
extent  to  which  its  aim  was  at  first  directed,  and  Luther,  whose 
character  was  so  full  of  gaiety  and  joyous  humor,  spent  at  last 
days  of  sadness  and  full  of  sorrow.  While  Reform,  having  a  pre- 
cise and  definite  aim — the  Bible, — nothing  but  the  Bible,  pro- 
ceeded with  power;  and  Calvin,  Farel,  Knox,  Zwingle  even, 
died  with  joy  and  in  triumph.  What  death  was  that  of  Calvin, 
and  what  adieux  were  his  ! 

Lutheranism,  paralyzed  from  the  beginning  of  its  existence, 
saw,  after  the  death  of  Luther,  conservation  changed,  in  its  bosom, 
into  stagnation. 

The  Lutheran  princes,  unfaithful  to  the  glorious  memory  of 
the  illustrious  diet  of  Spires  (1529),  opposed  all  extension  of  Pro- 
testantism, and  were  but  too  well  seconded  by  their  theologians. 

Now  also,  a  new  society,  which  we  salute  with  affection  and 
respect,  the  society  of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  faithful  to  this  Lu- 
theran principle,  endeavors,  it  is  true,  to  sustain  the  falling  Pro- 
testant churches,  but  declares  itself  opposed  to  all  exertion  be- 
yond recognized  Protestantism,  to  all  proselytism. 

Such  is  not  the  case  with  Reform.  It  marches,  it  advances,  it 
progresses,  it  gains  everywhere.  Our  Evangelical  Societies  of 
Paris  and  Geneva,  with  their  essentially  proselyte  character,  and 
all  our  missionary  societies,  are  the  fairest  fruits  of  the  spirit  of 
Reform. 

B\it  it  is  especially  in  the  relation  which  these  two  churches 
bear  to  papacy  that  this  distinguishing  character  is  shown.  Luther- 
anism, which  is  offensive  towards  Reform,  remains  defensive  towards 
the  pope ;  whilst  Reform,  on  the  contrary,  stretching  forth  the 
hand  of  brotherhood^to  Lutheranism,  takes  openly  and  courageously 
the  offensive  against  Rome.  At  Augsburg,  in  1530,  Melancthon 
said  to  the  cai'dinals,  that  there  was  only  a  small  line  of  separa- 
tion between  him  and  the  pope,  but  that  an  immense  abyss 
separated  him  from  Zwingle  !*  Lutheranism,  with  which  the 
visible  church  possesses  so  much  weight,  could  capitulate  with 
Rome.  Reform,  which  only  wishes  the  Bible,  would  run  tilt 
against  her.  Wherever,  also,  superstitious  fears  exist  of  a  con- 
flict with  papacy,  wherever^extreme  circumspection  prevails,  the 
idea,  for  instance,  that  prudence  forbids  Protestants  ^to  stretch 
forth  the  fraternal  hand  to  priests  who  reject  the  pope  and  confess 
Jesus  Christ,  there,  perhaps,  hyper- Lutheranism  will  be  found, 
but  not  certainly  the  spirit  of  Reform. 

Inspired  by  a  holy  love  for  souls  and  with  a  profound  conviction 

♦  Dogma  nullum  habemus  diversum  ab  ecclesia  Romana.  Parati  sumus 
obedire  ecclesiae  Romanae.  {Legato  Pontifico  Melancthon.)  Ambiunt 
(reformat])  colloquium  cum'Philippo ;  sed  hie  hactenus  recusavit.  [Brentius.) 


264  LUTHER   AND    CALVIN. 

that  Rome  leads  them  to  destruction,  Reform,  three  centuries  ago, 
seized  the  sword  of  the  word,  and  began,  with  the  papal  power,  a 
war  of  life  or  death.  Notwithstanding  the  constant  and  violent 
opposition  of  themostpowerful  European  monarchs, notwithstand- 
ing the  redoubled  efforts  of  that  hierarchy  which  drew  the  world 
after  it,  Reform,  like  little  David,  advanced  against  this  gigantic 
Goliath,  Avith  nothmg  in  its  scrip  but  the  well-smoothed  pebbles  of 
the  word  of  God,  and  it  has  conquered  through  the  name  of  the 
Eternal  of  armies.  Unquestionably,  I  am  grateful  for  all  that  has 
been  done  by  Christian  princes,  and  especially  by  the  immortal 
Gustavus  AdoliDhus.  But  that  was  rather  a  matter  of  princes  and 
perhaps  the  work  of  policy  ;  with  us  it  is  rather  a  matter  of  the 
faithful,  the  work  of  faith.  It  was  Reform  which  saved  the  Re- 
formation in  disastrous  times,  and  it  will  still  save  it  in  the  days 
in  which  we  live. 

It  is  true,  that  it  has  saved  it  at  the  expense  of  its  blood. 
Whilst  the  Lutheran  church  scarcely  possesses  a  single  martyr, 
our  churches  count  them  by  thousands,  and  their  fidelity  has  ac- 
quired for  them  the  respect  and  admiration  of  the  best  of  Luther- 
ans, the  tender  soul  of  the  Spencers  and  Zinzendorfs.  In  Swit- 
zerland, in  Scotland,  in  England,  and  especially  in  Belgium  and 
France,  the  inquisition,  the  papacy,  their  poniards  and  their 
scaffolds  have  covered  the  soil  of  the  Bible  with  the  bodies  of  the 
slain.  Reform  has  seen  it,  but  it  has  not  bowed  its  head.  It  has 
seen  its  children  deliver  up  their  blood  Avith  joy,  looking  to  Jesus 
Christ,  and  it  has  held  on  its  course. 

A  mandate,  written  in  the  name  of  a  priest  who  styles  himself 
Count  of  Lausanne  and  prince  of  the  holy  Roman  empire  (although 
the  holy  empire  ceased  to  exist  at  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century),  has  dared  to  say  quite  recently  in  this  city,  "  The 
pontiffs  and  priests  of  the  Church  (of  Rome)  have  been  continually 
and  everywhere  persecuted  from  the  times  of  the  apostles  till  the 
present  day.  The  holy  Pontiffs,  the  holy  priests  of  Jesus  Christ, 
laboring  from  the  origin  of  Christianity  for  the  conversion  and 
sanctification  of  souls,  have  never  employed  any  means  that  the 
gospel,  conscience,  and  reason  unite  in  condemnmg."* 

This  is  in  verity  too  strong,  and  a  sigh  escapes  us.  How  then ! 
you  dare  to  hold  such  language  in  this  city,  in  the  midst  of  a 
population  which  is  but  formed,  so  to  speak,  from  the  debris 
which  escaped  from  your  wheels,  your  wooden  horses,  and  your 
knives  !  We  are  accustomed  to  the  effrontery  of  Rome,  but  we 
have  never  had  such  a  specimen  as  this. 

Forgetful  people  !  from  whom,  tell  us,  came  the  bloody  appli- 
cation of  the  passage.  Constrain  them  to  enter  ?  By  whose  orders 
were  shed  those  torrents  of  Vaudoisian  and  Albigensian  blood, 
which  inundated  the  middle  ages  .'  Who,  if  it  was  not  your  Pope, 
when  in  the  night  of  August  24th,  1572,  in  the  midst  of  nuptial 
rejoicings,  the  old  Coligny  had  been  butchered  on  his  knees,  and 
with  him  fully  sixty  thousand  of  the  Reformed,  who  caused  the 
behs  of  Rome  to  be  rung,  the  cannon  of  the  castle  of  St.  Angelo 

*  Mandate  of  the  Bishop  of  Lausanne  and  Geneva,  May  17th,  1844. 


LUTHER   AND    CALVIN.  265 

to  be  fired,  and  medals  to  be  struck  ?  Who  was  it  who,  in  1685, 
overturned  in  France  sixteen  hundred  temples,  slaughtered  thou- 
sands and  thousands  of  Protestants,  and  forced  the  remainder  to 
flee  ?  In  our  own  days,  who  is  it  that  closes  almost  every  Roman 
Catholic  country  to  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  ?  Who  con- 
strains the  poor  inhabitants  of  the  Zillerthal  to  quit  the  country  of 
their  fathers  ?  Who  in  Austria  makes  laws  against  conversion  to 
Protestantism  ?  Who  condemns  to  prison  that  Maurette  who  last 
winter  contended  with  the  priests  charged  to  read  your  mandate 
from  the  pulpit  ?  Who,  two  months  ago,  in  a  neighboring  frontier 
village,  distant  a  league  from  this,  caused  a  poor  peasant  to  be 
seized,  thrown  into  a  dungeon,  and  then  condemned  to  the  gal- 
leys, who  had  committed  no  other  crime  save  that  of  reading  the 
Bible  ?  Who,  not  in  the  fourteenth  nor  fifteenth  century,  but  a 
few  weeks  ago,  condemned  to  death  Maria  Joaquina  for  having 
denied  the  duty  of  worshipping  the  Virgin  and  the  doctrine  of 
transubstantiation  ?  And  you  talk  of  Rome  as  a  perseaUed  church. ! 
And  you  say  she  never  employed  other  means  than  those  of  con- 
science and  gentleness  !  Forgetful  people  !  go  !  go  !  when  you 
persecute  you  are  quite  in  harmony  with  yourselves.  Persecu- 
tion must  be  and  in  truth  is  one  of  your  dogmas.  No  one  shall 
take  away  that  opprobrium  from  you,  and  no  one  shall  deprive 
u^  of  this  glory.  Your  church  is  the  church  of  executioners  ;  ours 
ihe  church  of  martyrs. 

VI.  I  only  take  one  other  character  from  among  all  those  that 
still  remain.  It  is  derived  from  the  one  we  have  just  described  ; 
the  difference  which  exists  between  our  two  communions  as  to 
the  liberty  of  the  Church  and  the  State. 

Luther  was  an  humble  and  submissive  monk,  even  according 
to  his  adversaries ;  and  although  he  possessed  great  powers  of 
speech,  he  kept  always,  in  presence  of  the  emperor  and  of  his 
prince,  within  the  limits  of  the  most  perfect  obedience.  And  even 
in  1530,  that  same  Luther,  who  in  1522  wrote  a  book  "Against 
the  state  of  the  pope  and  the  bishops  falsely  called  spiritual," 
showed  that  he,  as  well  as  Melancthon,  was  quite  disposed  to 
recognize  the  bishops,  if  only  the  bishops  would  recognize  the 
Gospel.  Luther's  reformation  was  essentially  monarchical  as 
regards  the  state,  hierarchical  as  regards  the  church.  The  people 
never  appear  in  it  but  to  receive  modestly  what  the  authorities 
give  them.  Luther,  in  short,  defined,  it  is  true,  the  two  swords 
clearly  enough^the  power  of  the  state  and  that  of  the  church ; 
but  after  his  day,  and  even  while  he  was  still  living,  the  Lutheran 
princes,  clothed  with  territorial  episcopacy,  absorbed  all  the 
ecclesiastical  liberties  and  independence 

Is  it  necessary,  gentlemen,  to  remark,  that  Lutheranism  pos- 
sesses, in  this  character,  an  excellence  which  is  peculiarly  its 
own.'  The  car  which  bears  the  human  mind  stood,  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  at  the  top  of  a  rapid  descent.  Reform  placed 
itself  boldly  in  the  seat;  seized  the  reins  with  one  hand,  and 
with  the  other  smacked  its  whip,  and  the  car  started.  What  was 
12 


266  LUTHER   AND    CALVIN. 

then  required  to  prevent  a  fall  to  the  bottom  of  the  mountain,  a 
terrible  catastrophe  ?  There  was  required,  gentlemen  (excuse  a 
common  word),  a  drag  ;  which  was  Lutheranism.  By  this  means 
its  course  would  be  swift  but  sure  ;  and  if  the  misfortune  which 
was  feared  has  happened,  it  is  because  Lutheranism  and  Reform, 
both  the  one  and  the  other,  lost,  during  the  last  century,  their 
essential  and  intrinsic  character  ;  it  is  because  the  drag  has  been 
taken  away,  and  the  driver  precipitated  from  his  seat. 

Here  then  is  a  new  difference  between  Reform  and  Lutheranism ; 
and  it  was  not  without  reason  that  Bossuet  said,  before  all  the 
court  of  Louis  XIV.,  "  Tlie  Calvinists  are  bolder  than  the  Lutherans." 

Reform,  from  its  very  commencement,  was  essentially  democra- 
tic. Switzerland,  where  Reform  developed  itself,  is  an  assemblage 
of  little  nations  in  which  the  people  is  sovereign.  It  was  from  the 
people  that  the  Reformation  emanated  ;  and  when  the  councils  op- 
posed it  (as  in  Bale,  for  example),  it  was  the  people  who  made  it 
triumphant.  Political  rights  and  liberties  trampled  under  foot  by 
the  papacy,  lightly  abandoned  by  Lutheranism,  are  zealously  re- 
claimed by  Reform.  The  reformation  of  the  free  German  cities, 
noAv  Lutheran,  was  the  most  brilliant  act  of  their  autonomy  ;  but 
in  making  this  lofty  effort,  they  lost  their  energy  and  their  liberty, 
and  fell  from  that  time  under  the  influence  or  the  power  of  for- 
midable neighbors. 

But,  on  the  contrary,  wherever  Reform  comes  it  preserves  the 
ancient  liberties,  and  adds  others  that  are  new.  If  the  lot  of  Ge- 
neva, a  free  imperial  city,  be  so  different  at  the  present  hour  from 
that  of  Augsburg,  Nuremburg,  and  many  other  cities,  formerly  free 
and  imperial  as  well  as  she,  whence  does  it  come,  I  pray  ?  .  His 
tory  shall  supply  our  answer.  Calvin,  in  1559,  at  the  time  wheia 
Geneva  expected  to  be  besieged,  put  his  own  hand  to  the  work  to 
raise  a  new  bastion.  If  Geneva  was  capable  of  maintaining  its 
independence  for  three  centuries  against  formidable  enemies,  it  is 
due  to  that  same  spirit  that  animated  Calvin.  Everywhere  this 
opposition  between  Lutheranism  and  Reform  is  to  be  met  with. 
And  in  our  own  days,  for  example,  when  in  1830,  at  the  time  of 
the  fall  of  Charles  X.,  the  Christians  of  France  and  other  countries 
rejoiced,  and  the  Christians  of  Germany  were  astonished  and  of- 
fended, it  perhaps  arose  altogether  from  the  one  being  Reformed, 
and  the  other  Lutheran. 

This  opposition  has  for  a  long  time,  gentlemen,  furnished  Ro- 
man Catholics  with  a  common  field  for  invective  against  Reform. 
They  are  welcome  to  it.  Let  us  just  call  to  memory  the  constant 
agitations  of  the  popish  states,  Italy,  Spain,  Portugal,  Poland,  Bel- 
gium, Ireland,  France,  and  three  days  ago  the  combat  of  Trient* 
(Valais).  Let  us  recall  to  memory  the  inquietude,  the  restlessness, 
the  sighs  of  the  Lutheran  states  of  Germany.  Let  us  remember 
the  powerful  and  fruitful  liberties  enjoyed  at  the  present  hour  by 
the  Reformed  states,  Scotland,  Holland,  England,  America,  and 
some  cantons  of  Switzerland.     And  if  in  America  the  peaceful  city 

*  Referring  to  the  late  revolution  in  the  Valais. — Tr. 


LUTHER    AND    CALVIN.  267 

of  William  Penn,  the  city  which  was  formerly  that  of  brotherly 
love,  be  now  stained  with  bloody  excesses,  whence  does  it  arise  ? 
I  do  not  say  that  the  Protestants  there  are  without  blame.  On  the 
contrary,  I  grant  that  the  salt  lias  there,  without  doubt,  lost  its  v.  - 
vor.  But,  nevertheless,  it  is  impossible  not  to  perceive  that  the 
disasters  of  Philadelphia  are  the  act  by  which  the  papacy  of  Ire- 
land heralds  its  invasion. 

As  respects  political  liberty  the  papacy  is  in  a  state  of  revolu- 
tion ;  Luiheranism  is  in  a  state  of  fermentation ;  Reform  is  in  a 
state  of  possession. 

Let  it  not  be  said  that  if  there  are  democratic  sympathies  in  Re- 
form, it  is  therefore  unfavorable  to  monarchies.  That  were  to 
make  a  strange  anachronism,  and  to  reason  in  the  style  of  Louis 
XIV.  Are  not  the  greatest  minds  at  present  of  opinion  that  de- 
mocracy, under  one  form  or  another,  is  the  futurity  towards  which 
the  nations  are  tending.  Now,  Reform  being  possessed  of  light 
and  strength  litted  to  guide  and  moderate  democracy,  as  M.  de 
Tocqueville  himself  alleges,  is  it  not  therefore,  henceforth,  requi- 
site for  the  prosperity  of  states  .'  To  reject  it  now,  would  be  the 
same  as  ^vhen  a  vessel  is  setting  sail,  and  about  to  launch  out  into 
the  great  waters,  to  turn  ofTits  seamen,  to  dismiss  its  pilot,  throw 
down  its  compass,  and  break  its  helm.  "Let  us  moderate  demo- 
cracy by  means  of  religion,"  says  M.  de  Tocqueville.  Reform  is 
the  golden  bridle,  powerful,  yet  easily  managed,  which  the  di- 
vive  hand  has  prepared  for  the  mouth  of  liberty.  The  real  pacific 
democracy  is  Reform.     You  will  lind  it  noAvhere  else. 

But  if  the  reformed  church  gives  liberty  to  the  state,  it  arises 
from  being  itself  possessed  of  it.  The  legislation  and  government 
of  the  church  with  it  do  not  proceed  from  certain  personages  pla- 
ced by  ofhce  originally  above  the  rest,  but  from  the  whole  of  the 
church,  from  the  suffrages  of  the  faithful,  so  that  if  any  are  raised 
above  the  others,  it  is  only  as  organs  and  delegates  of  the  church. 
Every  necessary  precaution  is  taken  to  prevent  domination  from 
creeping  in.  "  Let  the  moderator  have  the  presidency,  but  no- 
thing more  (say  the  ordinances  of  Schaffhausen),  lest  from  a.  demo- 
cracy it  should  become  ^monarchy." 

Reform  does  not  establish  a  church  of  ihe  clergy,  it  establishes 
(but  let  us  comprehend  well  the  meaning  of  the  words),  it  estab- 
lishes a  church  of  the  people  ;  not  of  the  peonle  of  the  world,  but 
of  the  people  of  God  ;  that  is  to  say,  a  church  composed  essen- 
tially, though  not  exclusively,  of  all  the  grave  and  holy  men, 
whose  thoughts  have  been  led  captive  to  the  will  of  Christ. 

Finally,  gentlemen,  as  to  the  independence  of  the  Church,  I  do 
not  assert  the  complete  separation  from  the  State ;  that  is  a  ques- 
tion upon  which  I  shall  give  no  opinion  in  this  address ;  as  to  the 
independence  of  the  church,  that  is  not  less  essential  to  our  Re- 
form. Zwingle  who  had  never  encountered  the  slightest  hinder- 
ance  from  the  state,  who  had,  on  the  contrary,  received  from  it 
every  species  of  support,  regarded  the  church,  we  must  acknow- 
ledge, as  a  society  inclosed  within  the  state,  protected,  tended,  and 
to  a  certain  extent  governed  by  the  state.     But  if  Zwingle  had  liv- 


268  LUTHER    AND    CALVIN. 

ed  in  a  time  when  the  state  made  war  on  Christian  trnth  in  favor 
of  papacy  and  socinianism,  do  you  think  he  would  have  made  the 
church  submissive  to  it?  No,  gentlemen,  he  would  have  sepa- 
rated the  church  from  it. 

In  fact,  already  before  the  time  of  Calvin,  the  synod  of  Berne  of 
1532  established  that  the  state  ought  not  to  interfere  in  religious 
matters,  except  as  to  what  regards  external  order.  "  But  as  to 
what  concerns  tlie  work  of  grace,  that  is  not  within  the  power  of 
man,  and  is  not  held  of  any  magistrate.  Tire  state  ought  not  to 
meddle  with  consciences  ;  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  is  the  only  mas- 
ter of  them.  If  the  magistrate  mix  himself  up  with  the  gospel,  he 
will  just  make  hypocrites." 

But  it  was  Calvin  especially,  the  chief  of  onr  Reform,  who 
claimed  for  the  church  autonomy,  autocracy,  and  independence. 
He  was  not,  like  Zwingle,  born  a  citizen  of  a  Republic,  but  the 
subject  of  a  mouarchy,  and  as  such  he  felt  himself,  less  than  he,  an 
integral  part  of  the  state.  The  organization  of  a  monarchy  besides 
did  not  permit,  so  much  as  that  of  a  republic,  that  confusion  of 
church  and  state  realized  by  Zwingle. 

Luther  Avas  a  German,  Zwingle  a  Swiss;  but  nationality  only 
occupied  a  secondary  place  in  the  great  soul  of  Calvin ;  Christ 
and  the  church  were  all  for  him.  He  was  neither  a  Frenchman, 
a  Swiss,  nor  a  Genevese  ;  he  was  of  the  city  of  God.  In  quitting 
France,  he  sacrificed  whatever  he  had  that  was  most  precious  : 
and  he  never  returned  to  the  abode  of  his  former  idols  to  raise 
them  anew.  Undoubtedly  he  loved  Geneva,  the  country  of  his 
adoption,  but  the  great  nationality  reigned  supreme  over  all  less- 
er ones.  Nothing  was  more  insupportable  to  him  than  national 
egotism.  Turning  away  from  those  narrow  compartments  in 
which  each  one  wishes  to  encase  himself,  his  eagle  eye  fixed  itself 
unceasingly  on  the  grand  whole  of  the  church.  His  colleagues  of 
the  cantons  strove  to  form  a  national  Swiss  church,  but  even 
that  attempt  appeared  too  mean  to  his  capacious  mind ;  and  pass- 
ing beyond  rivers  and  mountains,  he  aspired  unceasingly  after  the 
church  universal.  He  kne^v  no  nation  but  the  nation  of  holiness, 
and  no  people  bixt  the  people  of  God. 

His  principle  even,  which  bound  him  to  Bible  and  apostolical 
antiquity,  carried  him  back  to  the  first  three  centuries  of  the 
church,  and  caused  him  to  regard  the  independence  of  the  chtirch 
as  its  normal  condition.  How,  besides,  when  Calvin  saw  the  state 
in  France  united  to  the  Roman  hierarchy  and  roaring  like  a  fero- 
cious beast  against  the  htmible  Galilean  confessors,  \vould  he  not 
feel  constrained  to  put  the  church  beyond  the  reach  of  its  assaults'.' 
Moreover,  he  did  not  only  cast  aside  the  oppression  of  Francis  I. 
or  Henry  II.,  but  also  the  protection  of  reformed  magistrates,  which 
filled  him  with  lively  apprehension.  He  perceived  in  the  con- 
nection Avhich  existed  between  the  church  and  the  state  at  Zurich 
and  at  Berne,  something  servile  which  hindered  ^the  movements 
of  the  church  and  threatened  its  holy  liberty.  "  I  do  not  intend 
that  we  shall  be  so  servilely  bottnd,"  writes  he  in   1557  to  Bullin- 


LUTHER    AND    CALVIN.  269 

ger,  who  insisted  on  the  authority  of  the  magistrate.  Non  puto 
tarn  serviliter  nos  constrictos  icneri. 

Calvin  then  threw  far  from  him  the  idea  of  causing  the  Church 
to  be  governed  by  the  state,  even  by  the  state  evangehzed.  He 
wished  it  to  form  a  community  mi  generis,  in  which  each  member 
would  have  a  certain  share  in  the  government.  He  made  each 
church  a  little  democracy,  and  fioni  the  reunion  of  all  these 
churches  a  confederation. 

Calvin's  spirit,  as  to  the  independence  of  the  church,  was,  per- 
haps, nowhere  so  powerfully  manifested  as  in  the  canton  Vaud 
{Pays  cle  Vaud).  The  church,  in  that  beautiful  country,  found 
itself  between  Berne  and  Geneva  as  it  were  between  two  mutu- 
ally counteracting  forces.  The  spirit  of  liberty  and  independence 
was  blown  towards  it  from  the  walls  of  Geneva  by  the  powerful 
mouth  of  Calvin,  whilst  the  military  republic  of  Berne,  wishing  to 
maintain  that  strength  in  the  state  which  for  several  ages  consti- 
tuted its  greatness,  applied  itself  with  nervous  arm  to  tighten 
firmly  the  bands  and  the  forms  in  which  the  state  intended  to  hold 
the  church.  Berne  could  not  admit  any  part  whatever  of  the  pub- 
lic '  power  to  be  withdrawn  from  the  powerful  hands  of  the 
state,  not  even  in  things  religious.  Thus,  the  Vaudean  Church 
claiming  the  exercise  of  ecclesiastical  discipline,  the  state  was 
afraid  if  it  granted  that  power,  it  would,  in  some  sort,  recognize 
the  church's  independence.  The  state  was  quite  agreeable  to 
have  discipline,  but  intended  to  exercise  it  itself,  and  that  by  its 
own  officers.* 

However,  Viret,  Theodore  Beza,  and  a  great  number  of  other 
ministers,  maintained  the  principles  of  independence  in  the  Pays 
de  Vaud.  The  ties  with  Berne  became  more  relaxed  every  day, 
and  all  looks  Avere  turned  towards  Geneva.  The  two  great  systems, 
brought  into  the  presence  of  each  other,  rendered  a  crisis  immi- 
nent. "  A  rupture  was  inevitable,"  says  the  wise  Hnndeshagen, 
now  professor  at  Berne,  in  his  history  of  the  conflicts  of  that 
church.  Thus,  gentleinen,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  two  hundred 
and  fifty  years  before  its  emancipation,  the  independence  of  the 
church  was  on  the  point  of  conferring  on  the  people  political  in- 
dependence. But  the  heart  was  strongest.  He  descended  roaring 
from  his  mountains  ;  and  Viret,  Theodore  Beza,  Marlorat,  Merlin, 
and  about  forty  of  their  brethren,  all  friends  of  the  liberty  of  the 
church,  were  compelled  to  flee  from  the  country  in  which  they 
had  Avith  so  much  joy  announced  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  go  to 
enrich  Geneva  and  the  Reformed  Churches  of  France  with  their 
piety  and  their  light.  The  Free  Church  of  Scotland  has  been  able 
to  remain  even  on  the  field  of  combat,  but  the  Free  Church  of  Vaud, 
crushed  in  its  most  noble  members  by  the  mailed  hand  of  the 
powerful  republic,  was  compelled  to  quit  its  smiling  towns,  its 
valleys,  and  its  mountains — and  the  bond  Church  remained  there 
alone.     All  classes  of  the  pastors  were  shut  up  for  two  days  under 

*  Reformation  Ordinance  of  the  Seigneurs  of  Berne  (Voir  Ruchat,  1837, 
vol.  iv.,  p.  ■'522,  Pieces  Justificativcs.) 
t  The  arms  of  Berne.— Tr. 


270  LUTHER   AND    CALVIN. 

the  bars  and  bolts  of  the  castle  of  Lausanne,  and  no  one  could 
clear  the  gates  of  that  prison,  except  by  engagmg  to  compear  at 
the  first  citation.  And  at  the  same  time  the  state  deprived  all 
classes  of  the  right,  in  future,  of  convoking  either  class  or  confer- 
ence. Vaud  thus  witnessed  the  complete  triumph  of  the  state 
over  the  church.  Order  reigned  at  Warsaw.  That  order,  which 
succeeded  one  of  the  most  memorable  contests  of  Christianity, 
has  continued  for  nearly  three  centuries ;  and  the  influence  of  the 
Bernese  principles  has  during  this  lapse  of  time  been  so  infiltrated 
into  that  beautiful  country,  that  if  here  or  there  the  eloquent  voice 
of  the  Virets  or  the  Bezas  makes  itself  heard  from  the  midst  of  the 
ruins,  in  order  to  claim  the  rights  of  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ, 
it  is  looked  upon  as  a  strange  thing  !  These  accents,  three  centu- 
ries old,  are  regarded  as  modern  words,  and  as  theories  of  the  day. 

Undoubtedly,  gentlemen,  there  was  still  in  Calvin's  system  some 
connection  between  the  state  and  the  church,  but  so  little  was  it 
essential,  that  two  years  ago,  since  our  revolution,  some  voices 
only  required  to  recall  to  people's  remembrance  the  principles  of 
Reform,  to  bring  it  to  the  verge  of  being  severed.  Let  us  then  un- 
derstand perfectly,  if  there  be  at  present  in  some  minds  a  revert- 
ing to  petty  nationality,  if  there  be  some  honorable  Christians  who 
preach  blind  submission,  who  oppose  even  what  some  citizens, 
some  of  the  faithful,  respectfully  ask  by  petitions,  the  liberty  which 
has  been  sworn  to  them,  and  Avhich  even  the  constitution  of  the 
country  guarantees  them ;  such  a  way  of  acting  is  an  invasion  of 
Lutheranism,  even  a  false  Lutheranism,  and  a  considerable  devi- 
ation from  the  Reformed  principles. 

Gentlemen,  liberty  in  the  affairs  of  the  church  and  in  those  of 
the  state  ;  such  is  our  antiquity ;  our  custom  ;  our  tradition  ; — we 
are  the  conservators  of  them.  To  deprive  Reform  of  this  noble 
love  of  liberty  would  be  to  revolutionize  it. 

It  is  time  to  conclude. 

"  The  catholic  church,''  says  Lange,  "  is  the  church  of  the 
priests  ;  the  Lutheran  that  of  the  theologians  ;  the  Reformed  that 
of  the  faithful."  We  accept  of  this  definition,  remarking,  however, 
what  is  certainly  the  idea  of  Lange,  that  even  the  catholicity  of 
the  Reformed  church  causes  it  to  assign,  whether  to  doctors  or 
pastors,  the  place  which  belongs  to  them. 

If  it  be  required  to  find  a  motto  for  Reform,  what,  gentlemen, 
would  you  inscribe  upon  its  banner  ?  This  is  what  I  would  choose  : 

Above : — 

Grace. 

Below : — 

CATHOLiciTy,  Liberty. 

As  regards  the  doctrine  of  Grace. 

Grace  in  all  its  fulness,  from  everlasting  to  everlasting,  from  the 
first  movement  of  the  regenerated  till  the  full  accomplishment  of 
his  salvation. 

Then,  as  regards  the  church,  catholicity  and  liberty. 

Catholicity.    Unquestionably  the  Reformed  church  is  possessed 


LUTHER   AND    CALVIN.  271 

of  that.  A  church  which  has  never  ceased  to  make  the  grand 
Christian  union  one  of  its  most  vehement  desires,  one  of  its  most 
cherished  aims.  It  possesses  cathoUcity  in  a  higher  degree  than 
the  church  styling  itself  Catholic,  which  has  never  ceased  to  cut 
off  from  its  communion  whoever  was  imbued  with  some  truth 
and  life,  even  a  Jansenius  and  almost  a  Fenelon. 

But  if  grace  be  the  sun  of  Reform,  and  catholicity  one  of  its 
poles,  liberty  is  the  other.  Catholicity  as  regards  the  whole, 
liberty  as  regards  the  individual.  Individuality  and  catholicity 
are  equally  essential  to  it,  and  to  raise  the  one  in  opposition  to  the 
other  is  to  cease  to  be  Reformed. 

Thus,  gentlemen,  in  the  day  when  the  Lord  shall  assemble  his 
army  in  holy  pomp ,  in  the  day  when  the  body  of  Christ  shall  re- 
unite its  scattered  members,  the  Reformed  church  will  come 
bringing  as  a  gift  to  the  New  church  these  three  things  which 
shall  endure  ;  Grace,  Catholicity,  Liberty,  What  other  church  will 
be  able  to  present  so  fair  an  offering .' 

Let  us  be  then,  gentlemen  (this  is  my  last  sentence,  the  conclu- 
sion of  this  Address),  let  us  be  then  intelligent,  faithful,  and 
unshaken  sons  of  Reform  ;  I  do  not  say  only  in  this  school,  only 
in  Geneva,  but  in  Lausanne,  but  in  Neuchatel,  but  in  the  whole  of 
Switzerland,  France,  Holland,  Scotland,  England,  Germany, 
America.     The  destinies  of  the  church  depend  upon  it. 

Shall  we  forget  our  fathers,  their  principles,  their  struggles, 
their  faithfulness,  their  blood  .'  Whilst  they  took  so  much  care  to 
preserve  Reform  intact,  in  presence  not  only  of  the  papacy,  but 
also  of  all  secondary  shades  of  opinion,  shall  we  lightly  abandon 
the  precious  characters  of  their  faith !  Shall  we  walk  up  and 
down  upon  their  graves,  trampling  their  bones  under  foot  and 
scattering  tlieir  ashes .' 

Undoubtedly,  Lutheranism  has  its  task  as  we  have  ours.  Un- 
doubtedly, Lutheranism  and  Reform  should  march  on  hand  in 
hand  under  the  standard  of  Christ  to  the  conquest  of  the  world. 
But  that  we  may  render  to  our  ally  the  service  he  has  <he  right 
to  expect  from  us,  it  is  necessary  we  should  be  ourselves.  And 
are  we  so .' 

Ah  !  gentlemen,  he  who  addresses  the  awakening  letters  to 
the  seven  churches  of  Asia,  makes  us  hear  his  voice.  When  he 
sees  how  many  there  are  "  whose  hands  are  Aveakened  and  whose 
knees  are  out  of  joint,"  he  cries  to  Reform;  Hold  fast  that  which 
thou  hast,  that  none  may  take  away  thy  crown.  Guard  that  good  thing 
which  has  been  confided  to  thee  by  the  Holy  Spirit  dwelling  in  thee  ! 

Reform,  gentlemen,  is  the  church  of  the  present  time,  die  Con- 
fession der  Gegcnwart,*  as  Lange  calls  it.  To  Reform  the  Lord  has 
specially  committed  the  multitude  of  nations.  Let  it  advance, 
then,  freely,  courageously  in  the  world ;  let  it  there  accomplish 
the  holy  work  committed  to  it  by  the  Eternal ;  and  as  the  sixteenth 
century  was  signalized  by  a  great  separation,  let  the  nineteenth 
be  signalized  through  the  prayers  and  the  labors  of  Reform  by  a 
great  union.     I  will  make  thee  a  pillar  in  the  temple  of  my  God. 

*  The  Confesjiin?'  of  the  present  time. — Tr. 


PTJSEYISM    EXAMINED. 


IPUSEYISM  EXAMINED. 


GENEVA  AND  OXFORD 

"Two  systems  of  doctrine  are  now,  and  probably  for  the  last  time,  in  conflict — the  Ca- 
tholic and  Genevan." 

Dr.  Piisey'g  Letter  io  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 

Gentlemen  : 

I  am  in  the  practice,  at  the  opening  of  the  course  of  lectures 

in  our  School,  to  call  your  attention  to  some  subject  peculiarly 

appropriate  to  the  wants  and  the  circvimstances  of  the  times. 

Several  such  subjects  now  present  themselves  to  our  consideration. 

And  first  of  all,  there  is  one  which  is  appropriate  to  every  year 
and  to  every  day,  it  is  that  which  concerns  the  very  nature  of 
this  school.  It  has  none  of  those  temporal  sources  of  prosperity, 
of  endowment,  and  of  power,  whicli  nourish  other  institutions ; 
it  can  exist  only  as  a  plant  of  God ;  it  can  be  nothing  excepting 
just  as  the  Spirit  of  God — like  the  sap — diffuses  itself,  without 
cessation,  through  the  principal  branches,  and  through  even  the 
least  of  its  twigs  ;  adorning  the  whole  tree  with  leaves,  with  flow- 
ers, and  with  fruits.  Gentlemen,  Professors,  and  Students,  we  are 
those  twigs  and  branches.  Oh  !  that  we  may  not  be  barren  and 
withered  branches ! 

There  is  another  subject  which  begins  greatly  to  occupy  the 
most  distinguished  minds ;  it  is  the  question  whether  the  Church 
ought  to  depend  upon  the  civil  government,  or  ought  to  have  a 
government  of  its  own,  having  no  dependence,  in  the  last  resort, 
but  upon  Christ  and  his  Word.  Without  entering  here  into  this 
important  subject,  I  would  indicate  two  opposite  movements, 
which  are  at  this  moment  simultaneously  taking  place  under  our 
eyes  in  the  world  ;  the  one  in  theory,  the  other  in  practice.  On 
the  one  hand,  an  admirable  work,  the  production  of  one  of  the 
most  profound  thinkers  of  our  age,  Mr.  Vinet,*  leads  some  reflect- 
ing minds  to  acknowledge  the  independence  of  the  Church  ;  and, 
on  the  other,  many  people  are  uniting  themselves  with  new  zeal 
around  the  institutions  of  the  government ;  so  that  there  are  all 
around  us  convictions  and  movements  which  seem  to  carry  away 
the  people  of  our  day  by  contrary  currents.  It  is  thus  that  a  stu- 
dent of  Geneva  has  just  written  to  us,  that  the  refusal  to  grant  to 
him  the  exemption  from  military  duty  which  the  law  stipulates  in 
favor  of  students  in  Tlieology,  will  oblige  him  to  quit  our  school. 

*  Esgai  sur  la  Manifestation  de«  Convictions  Religieuses— Paris,  1842. 


276  PUSEYISM    EXAMINED. 

We  will  always  respect  authority,  but  we  cannot  refrain  from  re- 
marking that  if,  as  all  parties  maintain,  there  has  been  a  radical 
revolution  in  Geneva  this  year,  that  revolution  has  not,  assuredly, 
tended  to  establish  among  us  that  equality  and  that  religious  liberty, 
without  Avhich  all  other  liberty  is  but  a  useless  and  dangerous 
plaything.  However,  it  is  in  France  above  all  that  this  movement 
is  takingplace.  A  French  student  writes  to  us,  with  regrets  which 
have  touched  us,  that  he  has  united  himself  again  to  the  Estab- 
lished Church.  When  young  men,  after  having  pursued  in  our 
Preparatory  School  those  first  studies  which  present  so  many 
difficulties,  desire  to  secure  to  themselves,  by  certain  measures, 
a  future  more  easy ;  or  even  to  abandon  our  Institution  for  the 
purpose  of  placing  themselves  in  one  sustained  by  government, 
from  which  Unitarian  and  Rationalist  docrrines  have  been  banish- 
ed, we  shall  be  happy  to  think  that  we  have  been  able  to  prepare 
them  in  part,  with  the  aid  of  God  our  Saviour,  for  the  work  of 
the  ministry,  and  we  shall  follow  them  in  their  career  with  the 
same  affection,  and  we  hope,  with  the  same  prayers.  But  we 
ourselves.  Gentlemen,  will  make  no  advances  to  the  political  gov- 
ernments ;  we  believe  that  our  sole  resource  is  with  the  Govern- 
ment from  above,  and  knowing  the  faithfulness  of  Christ  towards 
those  who  seek  only  His  glory,  assured  that  there  is  a  place  for 
whomsoever  He  calls  to  preach  His  Gospel,  we  will  ask  of  Him  the 
confidence  that  we,  teachers  and  pupils,  ought  to  have  in  His  love, 
and  to  make  us  all  continue  to  walk  by  faith  and  not  by  sight. 
}  The  "circumstances  even  of  the  Church  in  our  country  might 
also  occupy  our  attention.  Alas  !  we  have  played  this  year  the 
part  of  Cassandra.  La  vain  have  we  presented,  as  well  as  we 
could,  the  correct  principles  of  Ecclesiastical  Government ;  in 
vain,  in  particular,  have  we  shown  that  the  elders  of  the  Church 
ought  to  be  chosen  by  the  people  of  the  parishes  assembled  in 
their  places  of  worship,  with  their  pastors,  after  having  invoked 
the  name  of  God,  and  not  by  municipal  councils,  over  which  ma- 
gistrates preside  ;  our  words  for  a  moment  heard,  have  in  the  end 
been  in  vain.  We  have  seen  among  us,  a  very  strange  spectacle  ; 
we  have  seen  ecclesiastics,  men  in  other  respects  truly  enlighten- 
ed, and  possessing  undoubted  talent,  appear  to  fear  their  parishes, 
and  employ  their  powerful  influence  to  cause  the  rulers  of  the 
Church  to  be  elected,  not  by  the  Church,  but  by  the  magistrates 
charged  to  watch  over  the  maintenance  of  the  roads  and  public 
edifices.  And  now  that  this  election  has  been  made,  what  do  peo- 
ple say  .'  surprising  thing  !  Exclamations  of  astonishment  and 
grief  are  heard,  that  Ihe  political  bodies  to  which  some  have 
wished  at  all  price  to  entrust  the  ecclesiastical  elections,  have 
made  those  elections  political ;  the  fall  of  the  Church  is  predicted, 
men  are  now  occupied  with  those  who  are  destined  infallibly  to 
share  the  spoils,*  and  nothing  can  equal  the  zeal  which  has  been 
employed  to  obtain  this  change,  unless  it  be  the  gi-ief  which  has 
been  manifested  when,  as  we  predicted,  its  inevitable  results  have 
been  discovered.     Behold,  Gentlemen,  whither  ignorance  of  the 

*  See  the  Courier  of  Geneva  of  the  24th  Sept.,  1842. 


PUSEYISM  EXAMINED. 


277 


first  principles  of  ecclesiastical  govemment,  on  the  part  of  those 
who  administer  the  Church,  whatever  may  be,  in  other  respects, 
their  illumination,  their  morality,  their  patriotism,  inevhably  con- 
ducts. 

If  we  look  beyond  this  School,  beyond  this  city,  into  the  reli- 
gious world  iii  general,  there  are,  Gentlemen,  other  siibjects  Avhich 
present  themselves.  It  is  thus  that  we  see  pious  men,  seduced, 
without  doubt,  by  many  truths  mixed  up  with  strange  errors,  re- 
ceive a  system  come  from  a  city  in  England,*  according  to  which 
there  is  no  more  Church,  although  Jesus  has  promised  (Matt,  xvi.) 
that  "  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it ;"  and  that 
there  ought  to  be  no  more  pastors  and  teachers,  although  revela- 
tion declares  to  us  that  Christ  himself  has  established  "  pastors  and 
teachers  for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of  the  minis- 
try, for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ."  (Ephes.  iv.  11, 12.) 

But,  Gentlemen,  there  is  another  error ;  it  is  that  which  is  found 
in  the  other  extremity  of  the  theological  line,  that  I  intend  now  to 
indicate  to  you.  In  the  bosom  of  a  University  in  England,  that  of 
Oxford,  has  grown  up  an  ecclesiastical  system  which  interests 
and  justly  grieves  all  Christendom.  It  is  now  some  time  since 
some  laymen,  whom  I  love  and  respect,  came  to  me  to  ask  me  to 
write  against  that  dangerous  error.  I  answered  that  I  had  neither 
the  time  nor  the  capacity,  nor  the  documents  necessary  for  the 
task.  But  if  I  am  incapable  of  compo.sing  a  dissertation,  I  can  at 
least  show  in  few  words  how  I  regard  it.  It  is  with  me  even  a 
duty,  since  respectable  Christians  ask  it  of  me;  and  it  is  that 
which  has  determined  me  to  choose  this  subject  for  the  present 
occasion. 

Let  us  comprehend  well.  Gentlemen,  the  position  which  Evan- 
gehcal  Christian  Theology  occupies. 

At  the  epoch  of  the  Reformation,  if  I  may  so  speak,  three  dis- 
tinct eras  had  occurred  in  the  history  of  the  Church. 

1.  That  of  ►Evangelical  Christianity,  which,  having  its  focus  in 
the  times  of  the  Apostles,  extended  its  rays  throughout  the  first 
and  second  centuries  of  the  Church. 

2.  That  of  Ecclesiastical  Catholicism,  which,  commencing  its 
existence  in  the  third  century,  reigned  till  the  seventh. 

3.  That  of  the  Papacy,  which  reigned  from  the  seventh  to  the 
fifteenth  century. 

Such  were  the  three  grand  eras  in  the  then  past  history  of  the 
Church ;  let  us  see  what  characterized  each  one  of  them. 

In  the  first  period,  the  supreme  authority  was  attributed  to  the 
revealed  Word  of  God. 

In  the  second,  it  was,  according  to  some,  ascribed  to  the  Church 
as  represented  by  its  bishops. 

In  the  third,  to  the  Pope. 

We  acknowledge  cheerfully  that  the  second  of  these  systems  is 
much  superior  to  the  third  ;  but  it  is  inferior  to  the  first ! 

*  Plymouth.  (Dr.  Merle  here  refers  to  those  who  are  called  "  Plymouth 
Brethren-") 


278  PUSEYISM   EXAMINED. 

I  111  fact,  in  the  first  of  these  systems  it  is  God  who  rules. 

Ill  the  second,  it  is  Man. 

In  the  third,  it  is,  to  speak  after  the  Apostle,  "  that  working 
OF  Satan,  with  all  power,  and  signs  and  lying  wonders"  (2 
Thess.  ii.  9). 

The  Reformation,  in  abandoning  the  Papacy,  might  have  re- 
turned to  the  second  of  these  systems,  that  is,  to  Ecclesiastical 
Catholicism  ;  or  to  the  first,  that  is,  to  Evangelical  Christianity. 

In  returnmg  to  the  second,  it  would  have  made  half  the  way. 
Ecclesiastical  Catholicism  is,  in  effect,  a  middle  system — a  via 
media,  as  one  of  the  Oxford  Doctors  has  termed  it,  in  a  sermon 
which  he  has  just  published.  On  the  one  hand,  it  approaches 
much  to  Papacy,  for  it  contains,  in  the  germ,  all  the  principles 
which  are  there  found.  On  the  other,  however,  it  diverges  from 
it,  for  it  rejects  the  Papacy  itself. 

The  Reformation  \vas  not  a  system  of  pretended  juste  milieu. 
It  went  the  whole  way  ;  and  rebounding  with  that  force  which 
God  gives,  it  fell,  as  at  one  single  leap,  into  the  Evangelical 
Christianity  of  the  Apostles. 

ih  But  there  is  now,  Gentlemen,  a  numerous  and  powerful  party 
in  England,  supported  even  by  some  Bishops  (whose  Charges 
have  filled  us  with  astonishment  and  grief),  which  would,  ac- 
cording to  its  adversaries,  quit  the  ground  of  Evangelical  Chris- 
tianity to  plant  itself  upon  that  of  Ecclesiastical  Catholicism, 
with  a  marked  tendency  towards  the  Papacy;  or  which,  accord- 
ing to  what  it  pretends,  would  faithfully  maintain  itself  on  that 
hierarchical  and  semi-Romish  ground,  which  is,  according  to  it, 
the  true,  native  and  legitimate  foundation  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. It  is  this  movement  which  is,  from  the  name  of  one  of  its 
principal  chiefs,  called  Puseyism. 

"  The  task  of  the  true  children  of  the  Catholic  Church,"  says 
the  British  Critic  (one  of  the  Journals  which  are  the  organs  of  the 
Oxford  party),  "  is  to  unprotestantize  the  Church."  "  It  is  neces- 
sary," says  one  of  these  doctors,*  "  to  reject  entirely  and  to  ana- 
thematize the  principle  of  Protestantism,  as  being  that  of  a  here- 
sy, with  all  its  form,  its  sects  and  its  denominations."  "  It  is 
necessary,"  says  another  in  his  posthumous  writings,t  "  to  hate 
more  and  more  the  Reformation  and  the  Reformers." 

In  separating  the  Church  from  the  Reformation,  this  party  pre- 
tends to  wish  not  to  bring  back  the  Papacy,  but  to  retain  the 
church  in  the  juste  milieu  of  Ecclesiastical  Catholicism.  How- 
ever, the  fact  is  not  to  be  disguised,  that  if  it  were  forced  to 
choose  between  what  it  considers  two  evils,  it  would  greatly 
prefer  Rome  to  the  Reformation. 

JVIen  highly  respectable  for  their  knowledge,  their  talents,  and 
their  moral  character,  are  found  among  these  theologians.  And, 
let  us  acknowledge  it,  the  fundamental  want  which  seems  to 
have  decided  this  movement  is  a  legitimate  one. 

There  has  been  felt  in  England,  in  the  midst  of  all  the  waves 

*  Mr.  Palmer.  t  Mr.  Froude. 


PUSEYISM    EXAMINED.  279 

which  now  heave  and  agitate  the  Church,  a  want  of  antiquity ; 
and  men  have  sought  a  rock,  firm  and  immovable,  on  which  to 
plant  their  footsteps. 

This  want  is  founded  in  human  nature ;  it  is  also  justified  by 
the  social  and  religious  state  of  the  present  time.  I  myself  thirst 
for  antiquity. 

But  the  doctors  of  Oxford,  do  they  satisfy,  for  themselves  and 
others,  these  wants  of  the  age  .' 

I  am  convinced  of  the  contrary.  What  a  juvenile  antiquity  is 
that  before  which  these  ^inent  men  ];)rostrate  themselves  !  It  is 
the  young  and  inexperienced  Christianity  of  the  first  ages  which 
they  call  ancient ;  it  is  to  the  child  that  they  ascribe  the  authority 
of  the  old  man.  If  it  be  a  question  respecting  the  antiquity  of 
humanity,  certainly  we  are  more  ancient  than  the  Fathers,  for  we 
are  fifteen  or  eighteen  centuries  older  than  they  ;  it  is  we  who  have 
the  light  of  experience  and  the  maturity  of  grey  hairs. 

But  no  ;  it  is  not  respecting  such  an  antiquity  that  there  can  be 
any  question  in  divine  things.  The  only  antiquity  to  which  we 
hold  is  that  of  the  "  Ancient  of  days"  (Dan.  vii.  13),  "  of  Him  who 
before  the  mountains  were  brought  forth,  or  ever  He  had  formed 
the  earth  and  the  world,  even  from  everlasting  to  everlasting  is 
God."  It  is  "  He  who  is  our  refuge  from  age  to  age"  (Ps.  xc.  1,  2). 
The  truly  ancient  document  to  which  we  appeal  is  that  "  Word 
which  is  settled  for  ever  in  heaven"  (Ps.  cxix,  89),  and  "  which 
shall  stand  for  ever"  (Isaiah,  x.  8).  Behold,  Gentlemen,  our 
antiquity. 

Alas,  that  which  most  afflicts  us  in  the  learned  doctors  of  Ox- 
ford, is  that  whilst  the  people  who  surround  them  hunger  and 
thirst  after  antiquity,  they  themselves,  instead  of  leading  them  to 
the  ancient  testimony  of  the  "  Ancient  of  days,"  only  conduct  them 
to  puerile  novelties.  What  novelties  in  reality,  and  what  faded 
novelties  ! — that  pw?'g-a^or)/,  those  human  pardons,  those  wnages,  those 
?-e/2cs,  that  invocation  of  the  saints  wliich  these  doctors  would  restore 
to  the  Church.*  What  immense  and  monstrous  innovation  that 
Rome  to  which  they  would  have  us  return  ! 

Who  are  the  irmovators,  1  demand  ?  those  who  say  as  we  do, 
with  the  eternal  Word  :  "  God  hath  begotten  us  of  His  own  will, 
with  the  word  of  truth"  (Jas.  i.  18),  or  those  who  say  as  do  the 
"  Tracts  for  the  Times :"  "  Rome  is  our  mother,  it  is  by  her  that 
we  have  been  bom  to  Christ."  Those  who  say  as  we  do,  with 
the  eternal  Word  :  "  Take  heed,  brethren,  lest  there  be  in  any  of 
you  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief  in  departing  from  the  living  God" 
(Heb.  iii.  12);  or  those  who  say  as  do  these  doctors:  "In  losing 
visible  imion  with  the  Church  of  Rome,  we  have  lost  great  privi- 
leges,"! certainly  the  doctors  of  Oxford  are  the  innovators. 

The  partisans  of  Rome,  that  grand  innovation  in  Christendom, 
do  not  here  deceive  themselves  ;  they  hail  in  these  new  doctors 
advocates  of  Romish  novelties.  The  famous  Romish  Doctor  Wise- 
man writes  to  Lord  Shrewsbury  : 

*  Tracts  for  the  Times,  No.  90,  Art,  6. 
t  British  Critic. 


280  PUSEYISM    EXAMINED 

",We  can  count  certainly  on  a  prompt,  zealous,  and  able  co-ope- 
ration to  bring  the  Church  of  England  to  obedience  to  the  See  of 
Rome.  When  I  read  in  their  chronological  order  the  writings  of 
the  theologians  of  Oxford,  I  see  in  the  clearest  manner  these  doc- 
tors approximating  from  day  to  day  our  holy  Church,  both  as  to 
doctrine  and  good-will.  Our  Saints,  our  Popes,  become  more  and 
more  dear  to  them  ;  our  rites,  our  ceremonies,  and  even  the  fes- 
tivals of  our  saints,  and  our  days  of  fasting,  are  precious  in  their 
eyes,  more  precious,  alas,  than  in  the  eyes  of  many  of  our  own 
people." 

And  the  doctors  of  Oxford,  notwithstanding  their  protestations, 
do  they  not  concur  in  this  view  of  the  matter,  when  they  say  : 
"  the  tendency  to  Romanism  is  at  bottom  only  a  fruit  of  the  pro- 
found desire  which  the  Church,  greatly  moved,  experiences  to 
become  again  that  which  the  Saviour  left  her, — One."* 

Such,  Gentlemen,  is  the  movement  which  is  taking  place  in  that 
Church  of  England,  which  so  many  pious  men,  so  many  Christian 
works  have  rendered  illustrious.  Dr.  Pusey  has  had  reason  to  say 
in  his  letter  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  :  "  upon  the  issue  of 
the  present  struggle  deiaend  the  destinies  of  our  Church."  And  it 
is  worth  while  for  us  to  pause  here  for  a  few  moments  to  exam- 
ine what  party  we  ought  to  prefer,  as  members  of  the  ancient 
Church  of  the  continent,  and  what  we  have  to  do  in  this  grave  and 
solemn  crisis. 

Gentlemen,  we  ought  to  profess  frankly  that  we  will  have  nei- 
ther the  Papacy  nor  the  via  media  of  Ecclesiastical  Catholicism,  but 
remain  firm  upon  the  foundation  of  Evangelical  Christianity.  In 
what  consists  this  Christianity  when  it  is  opposed  to  the  two 
other  systems  which  we  reject .' 

There  are  in  it  things  essential  and  things  unessential ;  it  is  of 
that  only  which  forms  its  essence  ;  of  that  which  is  its  principle, 
that  I  would  here  speak. 

There  are  three  principles  which  form  its  essence  ;  the  first  is 
that  which  we  may  call  its  formal  principle,  because  it  is  the 
means  by  which  this  system  is  formed  or  constituted  ;  the  second 
is  that  which  may  be  called  the  material  principle,  because  it  is 
the  very  doctrine  which  constitutes  the  religious  system  ;  the  third 
I  call  the  personal  or  moral  principle,  because  it  concerns  the  appli- 
cation of  Christianity  to  the  soul  of  each  individual. 

The  formal  principle  of  Christianity  is  expressed  in  few  words  : 

The  word  of  god,  only. 

That  is  to  say,  the  Christian  receives  the  knowledge  of  the  truth 
only  by  the  Word  of  God,  and  admits  of  no  other  soiirce  of  reli- 
gious knowledge. 

The  material  principle  of  Christianity  is  expressed  with  equal 
brevity : 

THE    GRACE    OF    CHRIST,    ONLY. 

That  is  to  say,  the  Christian  receives  salvation^  only  by  the 
*  Letter  of  Dr.  Pusey  to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 


PDSEYISM    EXAMINED.  281 

grace  of  Christ,  and  recognizes  no  other  meritorious  cause  of  eter- 
nal hfe. 

The  personal  principle  of  Christianity  may  be  expressed  in  the 
most  simple  terms : 

THE   WORK    or   THE   SPIRIT,   ONLY. 

That  is  to  say,  there  must  be  in  each  soul  that  is  saved  a  moral 
and  individual  work  of  regeneration,  wrought  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  and  not  by  the  simple  concurrence  of  the  Church,*  and  the 
magic  influence  of  certain  ceremonies. 

Gentlemen,  recall  constantly  to  your  minds  these  three  simple 
truths : 

The  Word  of  God,  only  ; 
The  Grace  of  Christ,  only  ; 
The  Work  of  the  Spirit,  only  ; 

and  they  will  truly  be  "  a  lamp  to  your  feet  and  a  light  to  your 
paths." 

These  are  the  three  great  beacons  which  the  Holy  Spirit  has 
erected  in  the  Church.  Their  effulgence  should  spread  from  one 
end  of  the  world  to  the  other.  So  long  as  they  shine,  the  Church 
walks  in  the  light;  as  soon  as  they  shall  become  extinct  or  even 
obscured,  darkness  like  that  of  Egypt  will  settle  upon  Christen- 
dom. 

But,  gentlemen,  it  is  precisely  these  three  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  Evangelical  Christianity  which  are  attacked  and  over- 
thrown'by  the  new  system  of  Ecclesiastical  Caiholicisin.  It  is 
not  to  some  minor  point,  to  some  doctrine  of  secondary  impor- 
tance that  they  direct  their  attention  at  Oxford ;  it  is  to  that  which 
constitutes  the  essence  even  of  Christianity  and  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, to  those  truths  so  important  that,  as  Luther  said,  "  with  them 
the  Church  stands,  and  without  them  the  Church  falls."  Let  us 
consider  them. 

I. 

The  formal  principle  of  Evangehcal  Christianity  is  this  : 

THE   WORD   OF   GOD,   ONLY. 

He  who  would  know  and  possess  the  Truth,  in  order  to  be 
saved,  ought  to  address  himself  to  thatrevelation  of  God  which  is 
contained  in  the  sacred  Scrii^tures,  and  to  reject  everything  which 
is  human  addition,  everything  which,  like  the  work  of  man,  is 
justly  suspected  of  being  stamped  with  the  impress  of  a  deplora- 
ble mixture  of  error.  There  is  one  sole  source  at  which  [the 
Christian  quenches  his  thirst ;  it  is  that  stream,  clear,  limpid,  per- 
fectly pure,  which  flows  from  the  throne  of  God.  He  turns  his 
lips  away  from  every  other  fomitain  which  flows  parallel  with  it, 

*  The  words  which  are  used  in  the  French  are  adjunction  de  VEgHse,  and 
are  employed  to  express  that  additional  or  concurrent  influence  which  the 
Church  is  believed,  by  the  Puseyites,  to  exert  in  regeneration  by  her  min- 
istrations.— Note  by  the  IV.  , 


282  PUSEYISM   EXAMINED. 

or  which  would  pretend  to  mix  itself  with  it ;  for  he  knows  that 
because  of  the  source  whence  these  streams  issue,  they  all  con- 
tain troubled,  unwholesome,  perhaps  deadly  waters. 

The  sole,  ancient,  eternal  stream,  is  God  ;  the  new,  ephemeral, 
failing-  stream,  is  man  ;  and  we  will  quench  our  thirst  bui  in  God 
alone.  God  is  for  us,  so  full  of  a  sovereign  majesty,  that  we 
would  regard  as  an  outrage,  and  even  as  impiety,  the  attempt  to 
put  anything  by  the  side  of  His  Word. 

But  this  is  what  the  authors  of  the  novelties  of  Oxford  are 
doing.  "  The  Scriptures,"  say  they,  in  the  Tracts  for  the  Times, 
"  it  is  evident  are  not,  according  to  the  principles  of  the  Church 
of  England,  the  Rule  of  Faith.  The  doctrine  or  message  of  the 
Gospel  is  but  indirectly  presented  in  the  Scriptures,  and  in  an 
obsure  and  concealed  manner."*  "  Catholic  tradition,"  says  one 
of  the  two  principal  chiefs  of  this  school, f  "  is  a  divine  informer 
in  religious  things  ;  it  is  the  unwritten  word.  These  two  things 
(the  Bible  and  the  Catholic  traditions)  form  together  a  united 
rule  of  Faith.  Catholic  tradition  is  a  divine  source  of  knowledge 
in  all  things  relating  to  Faith.  The  Scriptures  are  only  the  docu- 
ment of  ultimate  appeal ;  Catholic  tradition  is  the  authoritative 
teacher." 

"  Tradition  is  infallible,"  says  another  doctor  ;t  "  the  unwritten 
word  of  God,  of  necessity,  demands  of  us  the  same  respect  which 
his  written  word  does,  and  precisely  for  the  same  reason — because 
it  is  His  word."  "  We  demand  that  the  whole  of  the  Catholic 
traditions  should  be  taught,"  says  a  third. § 

Behold,  gentlemen,  one  of  the  most  pestiferous  errors  which 
can  be  disseminated  in  the  Church." 

Whence  has  Rome  and  Oxford  derived  it .'  Certainly  the  res- 
pect wiiich  we  entertain  for  the  incontestable  science  of  these 
doctors  shall  not  prevent  us  from  saying  it :  This  error  can  come 
from  no  other  source  than  the  natural  aversion  of  the  heart  of 
fallen  man  for  everything  that  the  Scriptures  teach.  It  can  be 
nothing  else  than  a  depraved  will  which  leads  man  to  put  the 
Sacred  Scriptures  aside.  Men  first  abandon  the  fountain  of  living 
waters,  and  then  he\v  for  themselves,  here  and  there,  cisterns 
which  will  hold  no  water.  Here'  is  a  truth  which  the  history  of 
every  Church  teaches  in  its  successive  falls  and  errors,  as  well 
as  that  of  every  soul  in  particular.  The  theologians  of  Oxford 
only  follow  in  the  way  of  all  flesh. 

Behold,  then,  gentlemen,  two  established  authorities  by  the  side 
of  each  other— the  Bible  and  Tradition.  We  do  not  hesitate  as 
to  what  we  have  to  do  : 

To  THE  L.4W  AND  TO  THE  TESTIMONY !  We  cry  with  the  pro- 
phet :  "  If  they  speak  not  according  to  His  word,  it  is  because 
there  is  no  light  in  them  :  and  behold  trouble  and  darkness,  dim- 
ness of  anguish ;  and  they  shall  be  driven  to  darkness."  (Isa. 
viii.  20,  22.) 

*  Tract  85.  t  Newman,  Lecture  on  Romanism, 

t  Keble's  Sermons.  §  Palmer's  Aids  to  Reflection. 


PUSEYISM    EXAMINED. 


283 


We  reject  this  Tradition  as  being  a  species  of  Rationalism 
which  introduces,  for  a  rule  in  Christian  doctrine,  not  the  human 
reason  of  the  present  time,  but  the  human  reason  of  the  times 
past.  We  declare,  with  the  Churches  of  the  Reformation  in  their 
symbolical  writings  (Confessions  of  Faith),  that  "  the  Sacred 
Scriptures  are  the  only  judge,  the  only  rule  of  Faith  ;"  that  it  is 
to  them,  as  to  a  touchstone,  that  all  dogmas  ought  to  be  brought ; 
that  it  is  by  them  that  the  question  should  be  decided,  whether 
they  are  pious  or  impious,  true  or  false  ?* 

Without  doubt  there  was  originally  an  oral  tradition  which  was 
pure ;  it  was  the  instructions  given  by  the  Apostles  themselves, 
before  the  sacred  writings  of  the  New  Testament  existed.  How- 
ever, even  then,  the  apostle  and  the  evangelist,  Peter  and  Barna- 
bas (Gal.  ii.  13),  could  not  walk  uprightly,  and  consequently 
stumbled  in  their  words.  The  divinely  inspired  Scriptures  alone 
are  infallible:  the  word  of  the  Lord  endureth  for  ever. 

But,  however  pure  was  oral  instruction,  from  the  time  that  the 
apostles  quitted  the  earth,  that  tradition  was  necessarily  exposed 
in  this  world  of  sin,  to  be  little  by  little  defaced,  polluted,  cor- 
rupted. It  is  for  this  cause  that  the  Evangelical  Church  honors 
and  adores,  with  gratitude  and  humility,  that  gracious  good  plea- 
sure of  the  Saviour,  in  virtue  of  which  that  pure,  primitive  type, 
that  first.  Apostolic  tradition,  in  all  its  purity,  has  been  rendered 
permanent,  by  being  written,  by  the  Spirit  of  God  himself,  in  our 
sacred  books,  for  all  coming  time.  And  now  she  finds  in  those 
writings,  as  we  have  just  heard,  the  divine  touchstone,  which  she 
employs  for  the  purpose  of  trying  all  the  traditions  of  men. 

Nor  does  she  establish  concurrently,  as  do  the  doctors  of  Ox- 
ford and  the  Council  of  Trent,  the  tradition  which  is  written  and 
the  tradition  which  is  oral ;  but  she  decidedly  renders  the  latter 
subordinate  to  the  former,  because  one  cannot  be  sure  that  this 
oral  tradition  is  only  and  truly  Apostolical  tradition,  such  as  it 
was  in  its  primitive  purity. 

The  knowledge  of  true  Christianity,  says  the  Protestant  Church, 
flows  only  from  one  source,  namely,  from  the  Holy  Scriptures,  or, 
if  you  will,  from  the  Apostolic  tradition,  such  as  we  find  it  con- 
tained in  the  writings  of  the  New  Testament. 

The  Apostles  of  Jesus  Christ — Peter,  Paul,  John,  Matthew, 
James — perform  their  functions  in  the  Church  to-day  ;  no  one  has 
need,  no  one  has  the  power  to  take  their  place.  They  perform 
their  functions  at  Jerusalem,  at  Geneva,  at  Corinth,  at  Berlin,  at 
Paris ;  they  bear  testimony  in  Oxford  and  in  Rome  itself.  They 
preach,  even  to  the  ends  of  the  world,  the  remission  of  sins  and 
conversion  of  the  soul  in  the  name  of  the  Saviour;  they  an- 
nounce the  resiuTection  of  the  Crucified  to  every  creature  ;  they 
loose  and  they  retain  sins  ;  they  lay  the  foundation  of  the  house 
of  God  and  they  build  it ;  they  teach  the  missionaries  and  the 
ministers  of  the  Gospel;  they  regulate  the  order  of  the  Church, 
and  preside  in  Synods  which  would  be  Christian.     They  do  all 

*  Formula  of  Agreement. 


284  PUSEYISM    EXAMINED. 

this  by  the  ivritten  Word  which  they  have  left  ns.  Or  rather, 
Christ,  Christ  himself,  does  it  by  that  Word,  since  it  is  the  Word 
of  Christ,  rather  than  the  word  of  Paul,  of  Peter,  or  of  James. 
"Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations;  lo  I  I  am  with  yon 
alway,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world."     (Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20.) 

Withont  doubt,  as  to  the  number  of  their  words,  the  Apostles 
spoke  more  than  they  wrote ;  but  as  to  the  substance,  they  said 
nothing  more  than  what  they  have  left  us  in  their  divine  books. 
And  if  they  had  taught  by  the  mouth,  as  to  the  substance,  differ- 
ently or  more  explicitly  than  they  did  by  their  wTitings,  no  one 
could  at  this  day  be  in  a  state  to  rejiort  to  ns  with  as.surance,  even 
one  syllable  of  these  instructions.  If  God  did  not  wish  to  preserve 
them  in  His  Bible,  no  one  can  come  to  His  aid,  and  do  what  God 
himself  has  not  wished  to  do,  and  what  He  has  not  done.  If,  in 
the  writings  more  or  less  doubtful,  of  the  companions  of  the  Apos- 
tles, or  of  those  Fathers  who  are  called  Apostolical,  one  should 
find  any  doctrines  of  the  Apostles,  it  would  be  necessary  first  of  all, 
to  put  it  to  the  trial  in  comparing  it  with  the  certain  instructions 
of  the  Apostles,  that  is  with  the  Canon  of  the  Scriptures. 

So  much  for  the  tradition  of  the  Apostles.  Let  us  pass  from  the 
times  when  they  lived  to  those  which  succeeded.  Let  us  come  to 
the  tradition  of  the  doctors  of  the  first  centuries.  That  tradition  is, 
without  doubt,  of  great  value  to  us  ;  but  by  the  very  fact  of  its 
being  presbyterian,  episcopal,  or  synodical,  it  is  no  more  Apostol- 
ical. And  let  us  suppose  (what  is  not  true)  that  it  does  not  con- 
tradict itself;  and  let  us  suppose,  that  one  Father  does  not  over- 
throw what  another  Father  has  established  (as  is  often  the  case, 
and  Abelard  has  i^roved  it  in  his  famous  work  entitled  Sic  et  Non, 
Avhose  recent  publication  we  owe  to  the  care  of  a  French  philoso- 
pher) ;* — let  ^us  suppose  for  a  moment,  that  one  might  reduce  this 
tradition  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church  to  a  harmony  similar  to  that 
which  the  Apostolical  tradition  presents,  the  canon  which  might 
be  obtained  thus  could  in  no  manner  be  placed  on  an  equality  with 
the  canon  of  the  Apostles. f 

Without  doubt, — and  we  acknowledge  it, — the  declarations  'of 
Christian  doctors  merit  our  attention,  if  it  is  the  Holy  Spirit  which 
speaks  in  them,  that  Spirit  ever  living  and  ever  acting  in  the  Church. 
But  we  will  not,  we  absolutely  will  not  allow  ourselves  to  be 
bound  by  that  which,  in  this  tradition  and  in  these  doctors,  is  only 
the  work  of  man.  And  how  .shall  we  distinguish  that  which  is  of 
God  from  that  which  is  of  men,  but  by  the  Holy  Scriptures  .'  "  It 
remains,"  says  St.  Augustine,  "that  I  judge  myself  according  to  this 
only  Master,  from  whose  judgment  I  desire  not  to  escape,"^  The 
declarations  of  the  doctors  in  the  Church  are  only  the  testimonies 
of  the  faith  which  these  eminent  men  had  in  the  doctrines  of  the 
Scriptures.     They  see  how  these  doctors  received  these  doctrines  ; 

*  Ouvragesinedites  d'Melard,  published  by  Mr.  Victor  Cousin.  Paris,  1836. 
Jhe  Introduction  of  this  work  upon  the  history  of  Scholastic  Philosophy 
in  France,  is  a  chef-d^ceuvre. 

t  Nitzsch,  Protestantische  Theses. 

j  Retract,  in  Prol. 


PUSEYISM    EXAMINED.  285 

they  may,  without  doubt,  be  instructive  and  edifying  for  us;  but 
there  is  no  authority  in  them  which  binds  us.  AH  the  doctors, 
Greek,  Latin,  French,  Swiss,  German,  English,  American,  placed 
in  the  presence  of  the  Word  of  God,  are  altogether,  only  disciples 
who  are  receiving  instruction.  Men  of  the  first  times,  men  of  the 
last,  we  are  all  alike  upon  the  benches  of  that  divine  school ;  and 
in  the  chair  of  instruction,  around  which  we  are  humbly  assem- 
bled, nothing  appears,  nothing  elevates  itself,  but  the  infallible 
Word  of  God.  1  perceive,  in  that  vast  auditory,  Calvin,  Luther, 
Cranmer,  Augustine,  Chrysostom,  Athanasins,  Cyprian,  by  the  side 
of  our  contemporaries.  We  are  not  "  disciples  of  Cyprian  and  Ig- 
natius," as  the  doctors  of  Oxford*  call  themselves ;  but  of  Jesus 
Christ.  "  We  do  not  despise  the  writings  of  the  Fathers,"  we  say 
with  Calvin,  "  but  in  making  use  of  them  we  remember  always 
that  '  all  things  are  ours'  (1  Cor.  iii.  22) :  that  they  ought  to  serve, 
not  govern  us  ;  and  that  '  we  are  Christ's,'  (1  Cor.  iii.  23),  whom  in 
all  things,  and  Mathout  exception,  it  behooves  us  to  obey."t 

This  the  doctors  of  the  first  centuries  are  themselves  the  first  to 
say.  They  claim  for  themselves  no  authority,  and  only  wish  that 
the  Word  which  has  taught  them  may  teach  us  also.  "  Now  that 
I  am  old,"  says  Augustine,  in  his  Retractions,  "  I  do  not  expect  not 
to  stumble  in  word,  or  to  be  perfect  in  word:  how  much  less 
when,  being  young,  1  commenced  writing  ?"t  "  Beware,"  says 
he  again,  "  of  subjecting  yourselves  to  my  writings,  as  if  they 
were  Canonical  Scriptures. "§  "  Do  not  esteem  as  Canonical 
Scriptures  the  works  of  Catholic  and  justly  honored  men,"  says  he 
elsewhere.  "  It  is  allowed  us,  without  impeaching  that  honor 
which  is  due  to  them,  to  reject  those  things  in  their  writings, 
should  we  find  such  in  them,  which  are  contrary  to  the  truth.  I 
am,  in  regard  to  the  writings  of  others,  what  I  would  have  others 
be  in  regard  to  mine."||  "  All  that  has  been  said  since  the  times 
of  the  Apostles  ought  to  be  retrenched,"  says  Jerome,  "  and  have 
no  authority.  However  holy,  however  learned,  a  man  maybe, 
who  comes  after  the  Apostles,  let  him  have  no  authority. "IT 

•'  Neither  antiquity  nor  custom,"  says  the  Confession  ot  the  Re- 
formed Church  of  France,  "  ought  to  be  arrayed  in  opposition  to 
the  Holy  Scriptures ;  on  the  contrary,  all  things  ought  to  be  exam- 
ined, regulated  and  reformed  according  to  them." 

And  the  Confession  of  the  English  Church  even  says,  the  doc- 
tors of  Oxford  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding:  "  The  Holy  Scrip- 
tures contain  all  that  is  necessary  to  salvation,  so  that  all  that  is 
not  found  in  them,  all  that  cannot  be  proved  by  them,  cannot  be 
required  of  any  one  as  an  article  of  faith  or  as  necessary  to  salva- 
tion." 

Thus  the  Evangelical  doctors  of  our  times  give  the  hand  to  the 

*  Newman  on  Romanism.  t  Calv.  Inst.  Relig.  Christ. 

t  Retractions.  ^  In   Prol.  do  Trinitate. 

II  Ad  Fortunatianum.  IJ  In  Psalm.  Ixxxvi. 


286 


PUSEYISM    EXAMINED. 


Reformers,  the  Reformers  to  the  Fathers,  the  Fathers  to  the  Apos- 
tles ;  and  thus  forming,  as  it  were,  a  chain  of  gold,  the  whole 
Church  of  all  ages  and  of  all  people,  shouts  forth  as  w^ith  one 
voice  to  the  God  of  Truth,  that  hymn  of  one  of  our  greatest 
poets  :* 

Parle  seul  a  mon  cosur,  et  qu'aucune  prucience, 
Qu'aucun  autre  Docteur  ne  m'explique  tes  lois  ; 
Que  toute  creature  en  ta  sainte  presence, 
S'impose  le  silence, 
Et  laisse  agir  ta  voix  If 

What  then  is  tradition  ?     It  is  the  testimony  of  History. 

There  is  a  historical  testimony  for  the  facts  of  a  Christian  histo- 
ry, as  well  as  for  those  of  any  other  history.  We  admit  that  tes- 
timony ;  only  we  would  discuss  it,  and  examine  it,  as  we  would 
all  other  testimony  The  heresy  of  Rome  and  of  Oxford, — and  it 
is  that  which  distinguishes  them  from  us, — consists  in  the  fact  that 
they  attribute  infallibility  to  this  testimony  as  to  Scripture  itself. 

Although  we  receive  the  testimony  of  history  in  that  which  is 
true,  as,  for  example,  in  that  which  relates  to  the  collection  of  the 
writings  of  the  Apostles  ;  it  by  no  means  results  from  this  that  we 
should  receive  this  testimony  in  that  which  is  false,  as,  for  in- 
stance, in  the  adoration  of  Mary,  or  the  celibacy  of  the  priests. 

The  Bible  is  the  Faith,  holy,  authoritative,  and  truly  ancient,  of 
the  child  of  God  ;  human  tradition  springs  from  the  love  of  novel- 
ties, and  is  the  faith  of  ignorance,  of  superstition,  and  of  a  credu- 
lous puerility. 

How  deplorable  but  instructive,  to  see  doctors  of  a  Church  call- 
ed to  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God,  and  which  reposes 
only  on  God  and  his  Word,  place  themselves  under  the  bondage  ot 
human  ordinances  !  And  how  loudly  does  that  example^cry  to  us  : 
"  Stand  fast  in  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ  hath  made  us  free, 
and  be  not  entangled  again  with  the  yoke  of  bondage."  (Gal.  v.  1.) 

All  those  errors  which  we  are  combating  come  from  truths 
which  have  not  been  rightly  understood.  We  also  believe  in  the 
attributes  of  the  Church  of  which  they  speak  so  much  ;  but  we 
believe  in  them  according  to  the  meaning  which  God  attaches  to 
it,  and  our  opponents  believe  in  them  according  to  that  which 
men  attach  to  it. 

Yes,  there  is  one  holy  Catholic  Church,  but  it  is,  as  the  Apostle 
says,  "  The  general  assembly  and  Church  of  the  first-born,  whose 
names  are  written  in  heaven"  (Heb.  xii,  23).  Unity  as  well  as 
holiness  ap^^ertains  to  the  invisible  Church.  It  behooves  us,  without 
doubt,  to  pray  that  the  visible  Church  should  advance  daily  in  the 
possession  of  these  heavenly  attributes;  but  neither  rigorous  imity 
nor  universal  holiness  is  a  perfection  essential  to  its  existence,  or 
a  sine  qua  non.  To  say  that  the  visible  Church  must  absolutely  be 
composed  of  saints  only,  is  the  error  of  the  Donatists  and  fanatics 

*  Corneille. 

t  Speak  thou  alone  to  my  heart,  and  let  no  other  wisdom,  no  other  Doc- 
tor explain  to  me  Thy  laws ;  let  every  creature  be  silent  in  Thy  holy  pre- 
sence, and  let  Thy  voice  speak ! 


PUSEYISM    EXAMINED.  2$7 

of  all  ages.  So  also,  to  say  that  the  visible  Church  must  of  ne- 
cessity be  externally  one,  is  the  corresponding  error  of  Borne,  of 
Oxford,  and  of  formalists  of  all  times.  Let  us  guard  against  pre- 
ferring the  exterior  hierarchy,  which  consists  in  certain  human 
forms,  to  that  interior  hierarchy  which  is  the  kingdom  of  God 
itself  Let  us  not  permit  that  the  form,  which  passes  away,  should 
determine  the  essence  of  the  Churcli ;  but  let  us,  on  the  contrary, 
make  the  essence  of  the  Church,  to  wit,  the  Christian  life — which 
emanates  from  the  Word  and  Spirit  of  God — change  and  renew 
the  form.  The  form  has  killed  the  substance, — here  is  the  whole 
history  of  the  Papacy  and  of  false  Catholicism.  The  substance 
vivifies  the  form, — here  is  the  whole  history  of  Evangelical  Chris- 
tianity, and  of  the  true  Catholic  Church  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Yes,  I  admit  it — The  Church  is  the  judge  of  controversies— Judex 
controversiarum.  But  what  is  the  Church  ?  It  is  not  the  Clergy,  it 
is  not  the  Councils,  still  less  is  it  the  Pope.  It  is  the  Christian 
people,  it  is  the  faithful.  "  Prove  all  things,  hold  fast  that  which 
is  good"  (1  Thess.  v.  21),  is  said  to  the  children  of  God,  and  not 
to  some  assembly,  or  to  a  certain  bishop  ;  and  it  is  they  who  are 
constituted,  on  the  part  of  God,  judge'i  of  controversies.  If  animals 
have  the  instinct  which  leads  them  not  to  eat  that  which  is  inju- 
rious to  them,  we  cannot  do  less  than  allow  to  the  Christian  this 
instinct,  or  rather  this  intelligence,  which  emanates  from  the  virtue 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Every  Christian  (the  Word  declares  it)  is 
called  upon  to  reject  "  every  spirit  that  confesses  not  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh"  (1  John  iv.  1 — 5).  And  this  is  what 
is  essentially  meant,  when  it  is  said  that  the  Church  is  the  judge 
of  controversies  ! 

Yes,  I  believe  and  confess  it, — there  is  an  authority  in  the  Church, 
and  without  authority  the  Church  cannot  stand.  But  where  is  it 
to  be  found  ?  It  is  with  him,  whoever  he  may  be,  that  has  the 
external  consecration,  whether  he  possesses  or  not  theological 
gifts,  whether  he  has  received  or  not  grace  and  justification.'  Rome 
herself  does  not  yet  pretend  that  orders  save  and  sanctify.  Must 
then  the  children  of  God  go,  in  many  cases,  to  ask  a  decision  in 
things  relating  to  faith,  of  the  children  of  this  world  .'  What !  a 
bishop,  from  the  moment  he  is  seated  in  his  chair,  although  he 
may  be  perhaps  destitute  of  science,  destitute  of  the  Sinrit  of  God, 
and  although  he  may  perhaps  have  the  Avorld  and  hell  in  his  heart, 
as  had  Borgia  and  so  many  other  bishops,  shall  he  have  authority 
in  the  a.ssembly  of  the  saints,  and  do  his  lips  possess  always  the 
wisdom  and  the  truth  necessary  for  the  Church .'...,  No,  Gentle- 
men, the  idea  of  a  knowledge  of  God,  true,  but  at  the  same  time 
destitute  of  holine.ss,  is  a  gross  .supernaturalism.  "  Sanctify  them 
through  the  Truth"  says  Jesus  (John  xvii.,  17).  There  is  an 
authority  in  the  Church,  but  that  aiuhority  is  wholly  in  the  Word 
of  God.  It  is  not  a  man,  not  a  minister,  not  a  bishop,  descended 
from  Gregory,  from  Chrysostom,  from  Augustine,  or  from  Irenirus, 
who  has  authority  over  the  soul.  It  is  not  with  a  power  so  con- 
temptible as  that  which  comes  from  those  men,  that  we,  the  minis- 
ters of  God,  go  forth  into  the  world.     It  is  elsewhere  than  in  that 


288  PUSEYISM    EXAMINED. 

episcopal  succession,  that  we  seek  that  which  gives  authority  to 
our  ministry,  and  validity  to  our  sacraments. 

Rejecting  these  deplorable  innovations,  we  appeal  from  them  to 
the  ancient,  sovereign  and  divine  authority  of  the  Word  of  the 
Lord.  The  question  which  we  ask  of  him  who  would  inform 
himself  concerning  eternal  things  is  that  which  we  receive  from 
Jesus  himself:  "  What  is  written  in  the  Law,  and  how  readest 
thou  ?"  (Luke  x.  26.)  That  which  we  say  to  rebellious  spirits  is 
what  Abraham  said  from  heaven  to  the  rich  man;  '-You  have 
Moses  and  the  prophets,  hear  them."  (Luke  xvi.  29.) 

That  which  we  ask  of  all,  is  to  imitate  the  Bereans  who 
"  searched  the  Scriptures  daily,  whether  these  things  were  so." 
(Acts  xvii.  11.) 

"  We  ought  to  obey  God  rather  than  men,"  even  the  most  ex- 
cellent of  men.     (Acts  v.  29.) 

Behold,  the  true  authority,  the  true  hierarchy,  the  true  polity. 
The  churches  which  men  make  possess  human  authority — this  is 
natural.  But  the  Church  of  God  possesses  the  authority  of  God, 
and  she  will  not  receive  it  from,  others. 

IL 

Such  is  the/ormfl/  principle  of  Christianity;  let  us  come  now 
to  its  material  principle,  that  is  to  say,  to  that  which  is  the  body, 
the  substance  even,  of  religion.  We  have  announced  it  in  these, 
terms : 

THE    GRACE   OF   CHRIST,    ONLY. 

"  Ye  are  saved  by  grace,  through  faith,"  says  the  Scripture, 
"  and  that  not  of  yourselves,  it  is  the  gift  of  God  ;  not  of  works, 
lest  any  man  .should  boast."     (Eph.  ii.  8.) 

Evangelical  Christianity  not  only  seeks  for  complete  salvation 
in  Christ,  but  seeks  it  in  Christ  only,  thus  excluding,  as  a  cause  of 
salvation,  all  works  of  his  own,  all  merit,  all  co-operation  of  man 
or  of  the  Church.  There  is  nothing,  absolutely  nothing,  upon 
which  we  can  build  the  hope  of  our  salvation,  but  the  free  and 
unmerited  grace  of  God,  which  is  given  to  us  in  Christ,  and  com- 
municated by  faith. 

Now,  this  second  great  foundation  of  Evangelical  Christianity 
is  equally  overthrown  by  the  modern  Ecclesiastical  Catholicism. 

The  famous  Tract,  No.  90,  which  I  hold  in  my  hand  at  this 
moment,  seeks  to  explain  in  a  papistical  sense  the  Confession  of 
Faith  of  the  Church  of  England.  ' 

The  nth  Article  of  this  Confession  says  :  "  That  we  are  justified 
by  Faith  only,  is  a  most  wholesome  doctrine." 

Behold  the  commentary  of  the  new  School  of  Oxford :  "  In  ad- 
hering to  the  doctrine  that  faith  alone  justifies,  we  do  not  at  all 
exclude  the  doctrine  that  works  also  justify.  If  it  were  said  that 
works  justify  in  the  same  sense  in  which  it  is'said  that  faith  alone 
justifies,  there  would  be  a  contradiction  in  terms.  But  faith  alone 
in  one  sense  justifies  us,  and  in  another,  good  works  justify  us : 


PUSEYISM    EXAMINED,  289 

this  is  all  that  is  here  maintained  !  .  .  .  .  Christ  alone,  in  one  sense, 
justifies,  faith  also  justifies  in  its  proper  sense ;  and  so  works, 
whether  moral  or  ceremonial,  may  justify  us  in  their  respective 
sense." 

"  There  are,"  says  the  British  Critic,  "  some  Catholic  truths 
which  are  imprinted  on  the  surface  of  the  Scripture  rather  than 
enveloped  in  its  profound  meaning  ;  such  is  the  doctrine  of  justifi- 
cation by  works."  "  The  preaching  of  justification  by  Faith," 
says  another  doctor  of  this  School,  "  ought  to  be  addressed  to 
Pagans  by  the  propagators  of  Christian  knowledge  ;  its  promoters 
ought  to  preach  to  baptized  persons  justification  by  works." — 
Works,  yes  :  but  justification  by  them,  never ! 

Justification  is  not,  according  to  these  doctors,  that  judicial  act 
by  which  God,  for  the  sake  of  the  expiatory  death  of  Christ,  de- 
clares that  He  treats  us  as  righteous  ;  it  is  confounded  by  them, 
as  well  as  by  Rome,  with  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

"  Justification,"  says  again  the  chief  of  these  doctors,  "  is  a 
progressive  work ;  it  must  be  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  not 
of  Christ.  The  distinction  between  deliverance  from  the  guilt  of 
sin  and  deliverance  from  sin  itself,  is  not  scriptural."*  The  British 
Critic  calls  the  system  of  Justification  by  grace  through  faith, 
"radically  and  fundamentally  monstrous,  immoral,  heretical  and 
anti-Christian."  "  The  custom  which  has  prevailed,"  say  again 
these  doctors,  "of  advancing,  on  all  occasions,  the  doctrine  of 
Justification  explicitly  and  mainly,  is  evidently  and  entirely 
opposed  to  the  teaching  of  the  Holy  Scriptures."t  And  they  con- 
demn those  who  make  "  Justification  to  consist  in  the  act  by 
which  the  soul  rests  upon  the  merits  of  Christ  only."t 

I  know  that  the  doctors  of  Oxford  pretend  to  have  found  here  a 
middle  term  between  the  Evangelical  doctrine  and  the  Romish 
doctrine.  "  It  is  not,"  say  they, "  Sanctification  which  justifies  us, 
but  the  presence  of  God  in  us,  from  which  this  Sanctification 
flows.  Our  Justification  is  the  possession  of  this  presence."  But 
the  doctrine  of  Oxford  is  at  bottom  the  same  with  that  of  Rome. 
The  Bible  speaks  to  us  of  two  great  works  of  Christ :  christ  for 
us,  AND  CHRIST  IN  US.  VVhicli  of  tliesc  two  works  is  that  which 
justifies  us  ?  The  Church  of  Christ  answers  :  The  first.  Rome  and 
Oxford  answer  :  The  second.     When  this  is  said,  all  is  said. 

And  these  doctors  do  not  conceal  it.  They  inform  us  that  it  is 
the  system  against  which  they  stand  up.  They  declare  to  us  that 
it  is  against  the  idea,  that,  when  the  sinner  "  has  by  faith  laid  hold 
of  the  saving  merits  of  Christ,  his  sins  are  blotted  out,  covered, 
and  cannot  re-appear ;  his  guilt  has  been  abolished,  so  that  he 
has  only  to  render  thanks  to  Christ,  who  has  delivered  him  from 
his  transgressions." — "  My  Lord,"  says  Dr.  Pusey  to  the  Bishop  of 

Oxford,  "  it  is  against  this  system  that  I  have  spoken" Stop  ! 

Do  not  tear  to  pieces  this  Good  News,  which  alone  has  been,  and 
will  be  in  all  ages,  the  consolation  of  the  sinner  ! 

Gentlemen,  if  the  first  principle  of  this  new  School  had  for  effect 

•  Newman  on  Justification,    t  Tract,  80. 
X  Newman  on  Justification. 
14 


290  PUSEYISM    EXAMINED. 

to  deprive  the  Church  of  all  light,  this  second  principle  would 
have  for  its  end  to  deprive  her  of  all  salvation.  "  If  righteous- 
ness come  by  the  law,  then  Christ  is  dead  in  vain.  0  foolish  Gala- 
tians,  who  hath  bewitched  you,  that  ye  should  not  obey  the  truth  : 
receive  ye  the  Spirit  by  the  works  of  the  law,  or  by  the  hearing  of 
faith!"    (Gal.  ii.  21,  iii.  2,  3.) 

Men  the  most  eminent  for  piety,  have  felt  that  it  is  the  source 
even  of  the  Christian  life,  the  foundation  of  the  Church,  which  is 
here  attacked :  "  there  is  reason,"  says  the  excellent  Bishop  of 
Winchester,  who,  as  well  as  several  other  Bishops,  and  particu- 
larly those  of  Chester  and  Calcutta,  has  denounced  these  errors,  in 
a  Charge  addressed  to  bis  clergy,  "  there  is  reason  to  fear  that  the 
distinctive  principles  of  our  Church  would  be  endangered,  if  men 
should  envelope  in  a  cloud  the  great  doctrine  which  sets  forth  the 
way  in  which  we  are  accounted  righteous  before  God ;  if  men 
doubt  that  the  Protestant  doctrine  of  Justification  by  faith  is  funda- 
mental ;  if,  instead  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  the  pure  and  only 
cause  for  which  we  are  graciously  received,  men  establish  a  cer- 
tain inherent  disposition  of  sanctification,  and  thus  confound  the 
work  of  the  Spirit  "vvithin  with  the  work  of  Christ  without." 

The  School  of  Oxford  pretends,  Avith  Rome  and  the  Council  of 
Trent,  "that  justification  is  the  indweUing  in  us,  of  God  the  Father 
and  of  the  incarnate  Word,  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  that  the  two 
acts  distingiTished  from  each  other  by  the  Bible  and  our  theolo- 
gians form  only  one."* — What  then  ? 

God,  1.  remits  to  the  sinner  the  penalty  of  sin ;  he  absolves  him; 
he  pardons  him;  2.  he  delivers  him  from  sin  itself;  he  renews 
him  ;  he  sanctifies  him. 
Are  there  not  here  two  things  ? 

The  pardon  of  sin  on  the  part  of  God,  would  it  not  be  just 
nothing  at  all  ?  Would  it  not  be  simply  but  an  image  of  sanctifi- 
cation ?  Or  should  one  say  that  the  pardon  which  is  granted  to 
faith,  and  which  produces  in  the  heart  the  sentiment  of  reconcilia- 
tion, of  adoption,  and  of  peace,  is  something  too  external  to  be 
taken  into  the  account  ? 

"  The  Lutheran  system,"  says  the  British  Critic,  "  is  immoral, 
because  it  distinguishes  these  two  works."  Without  doubt,  it  does 
distinguish  them,  but  it  does  not  separate  them.  "  See  wherefore 
we  are  justified,"  says  Melancthon,  in  the  Apology  for  the  Con- 
fession of  Augsburg  ;  "  it  is  in  order  that  being  righteous  we  should 
do  good,  and  begin  to  obey  the  law.  of  God  ;  see  here  why  it  is 
that  we  are  regenerated  and  receive  the  Holy  Spirit ;  it  is  that  the 
new  life  may  have  new  works,  and  new  dispositions."  How 
many  times  has  not  the  Reformation  declared  that  justifying  faith 
is  not  an  historical,  dead,  vain  knowledge,  but  a  living  action,  a 
willing  and  a  receiving,  a  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  true  wor- 
ship of  God,  obedience  towards  God  in  the  most  important  of  all 
moments.  Yes,  it  is  a  living,  efficacious  faith  which  justifies ; 
and  these  words  efficacious  faith — which  are  found  in  all  otir  Con- 
fessions of  Faith — are  there  for  the  purpose  of  declarmg  that  faith 

*  Letter  of  Dr.  Pusey  to  the  Bishop  of  Oxford. 


PUSEYISM    EXAMINED.  291 

alone,  without  doubt,  serves  as  a  cause  iu  the  work  of  justification, 
that  alone,  without  doubt,  it  justifies,  but  that  precisely  because 
•of  this  it  does  not  rest  alone,  that  is  to  say,  witliout  its  appropriate 
operations  and  its  fruits. 

Behold,  the  grand  difference  between  us  and  the  Oxford  Schooh 
We  believe  in  sanctification  through  justification,  and  the  Oxford 
School  believes  in  justification  through  sanctification.  With  us, 
justification  is  the  cause  and  sanctification  is  the  effect.  With 
these  doctors,  on  the  contrary,  sanctification  is  tl^  cause,  and 
justification  the  effect.  And  here  are  not  things  iiTOifferent,  and 
vain  distinctions ;  it  is  the  */c  and  the  non,  the  yes  and  the  no. 
Whilst  our  creed  establishes  in  all  their  rights  these  two  works, 
the  creed  of  Oxford  compi"omises  and  annihilates  both.  Justifica- 
tion exists  no  more,  if  it  depend  on  man's  sanctification,  and  not 
on  the  grace  of  God;  for  "  the  heavens,"  says  the  Scripture,  "  are 
not  clean  in  his  sight"  (Job  xv.-  15),  "  and  his  eyes  are  too  pure 
to  behold  iniquity"  (Hab.  i.  13);  but  on  the  other  hand  sanctifi- 
cation itself  cannot  be  accomplished  ;  for  how  could  you  expect 
the  effect  to  be  j^roduced  when  you  begin  by  taking  away  the 
cause  .'  "  Herein  is  love,"  says  St.  John,  "  not  that  we  loved  God, 
but  that  He  loved  us ;  we  love  Him  because  he  first  loved  us." 
(1  John  iv.  10,  19.)  If  I  might  use  a  vulgar  expression,  I  should 
say  that  Oxford  puts  the  cart  before  the  horse,  in  placing  sanctifica- 
tion before  justification.  In  this  way  neither  the  cart  nor  the 
horse  will  advance.  In  order  that  the  work  should  go  on,  it  is 
necessary  that  that  which  draws  should  be  placed  before  that 
■which  is  drawn.  There  is  not  a  system  more  contrary  to  true 
sanctification  than  that;  and,  to  employ  the  language  of  the 
British  Critic,  there  is  not,  consequently,  a  system  more  monstrous 
and  immoral.  What!  your  justification,  shall  it  not  depend  ujion 
the  work  which  Christ  accomplished  on  the  cross,  but  upon  that 
which  is  accomplished  in  your  hearts  !  It  is  not  to  Christ,  to  his 
grace,  that  you  ought  to  look  in  order  to  be  justified,  but  to  your- 
selves, to  the  righteousness  which  is  in  you,  to  your  spiritual 
gifts  !.... 

From  this  result  two  great  evils. 

Either  you  will  deceive  yourselves,  in  believing  that  there  is  a 
work  in  you  sufficiently  good  to  justify  you  before  God ;  and  then 
you  will  be  inflated  with  pride,  that  pride  which  the  Scripttires 
say,  "  goeth  before  a  fall."  Or  yon  will  not  deceive  yourselves; 
you  will  see,  as  the  Saviour  says,  that  you  are  poor,  and  wretch- 
ed, and  blind,  and  naked  ;*and  then  you  will  fall  into  despair. 
The  heights  of  pride  and  the  depths  of  despair,  these  are 
the  alternatives  which  the  doctrine  of  Oxford  and  of  Rome  be- 
queathes us. 

The  Christian  doctrine,  on  the  contrary,  places  man  in  perfect 
humility,  for  it  is  Another  who  justifies  him;  and  yet  it  gives 
him  abundant  peace,  for  his  justification, — a  fruit  of  the  right- 
eousness of  God"  (2  Cor.  v.  21) — is  complete,  assured,  eternal. 


292  PUSEYISM  EXAMINED. 

III. 

Finally,  we  indicate  the  personal  or  moral  principle  of  Christianity. 
We  have  announced  it  in  these  words  : — 

THE   "WORK   OF   THE   SPIRIT   ONLY. 

Christianity  is  an  individual  work  ;  the  grace  of  God  converts 
soul  after  soul.  Each  soul  is  a  world,  in  which  a  creation  pecu- 
liar to  itself  Must  be  accomplished.  The  Church  is  but  the  as- 
semblage of  all  the  souls  in  whom  this  work  is  wrought,  and 
who  are  now  united  because  they  have  but  "  one  Spirit,  one 
Lord,  one  Father." 

And  what  is  the  nature  of  this  work  .'  It  is  essentially  moral. 
Christianity  operates  upon  the  ■will  of  man  and  changes  it.  Con- 
version comes  from  the  action  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  not  from 
the  magic  action  of  certain  ceremonies,  which,  rendering  faith  on 
the  part  of  man  vain  and  useless,  would  regenerate  him  by  their 
own  inherent  virtue.  "  In  Christ  Jesus  neither  circumcision 
availeth  anything,  nor  uncircumcision,  but  [to  be]  a  new  crea- 
ture" (Gal.  vi.  15).  "If  through  the  Spirit  ye  do  mortify  the 
deeds  of  the  body,  ye  shall  live"  (Rom.  viii.  13). 

Now  the  doctors  of  Oxford,  although  there  is  a  great  difference 
among  them  on  this  point,  as  well  as  on  some  others — some 
going  by  no  means  as  far  as  others — put  immense  obstacles  in  the 
way  of  this  individual  regeneration. 

Nothing  inspires  them  with  greater  repugnance  than  Christian 
individualism.  They  proceed  by  synthesis,  not  by  analysis. 
They  do  not  set  out  with  the  principle  laid  down  by  the  Saviour, 
"  except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God  ;" 
but  they  set  out  with  this  opposite  principle :  "  all  those  who 
have  participated  in  the  ordinances  of  the  Church  are  born  again." 
And  whilst  the  Saviour  in  all  his  discourses  excites  the  ejforts  of 
each  individual,  saying :  "  Seek,  ask,  knock,  strive  to  enter  in  at 
the  strait  gate ;  it  is  only  the  violent  who  take  it  by  force ;"  the 
Oxford  doctors  say,  on  the  contrary  :  "  The  idea  of  obtaining  reli- 
gious truth  ourselves,  and  by  our  private  inquiry,  whether  by  read- 
ing, or  by  thinking,  or  by  studying  the  Scriptures  or  other  books, 
._.  .  .  is  nowhere  commanded  in  the  Scriptures.  The  great  ques- 
tion which  ought  to  be  placed  before  every  mind  is  this  :  What 
voice  should  be  heard  like  that  of  the  holy  Catholic  and  Apostolic 
Church  r* 

And  this  individual  regeneration  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  how  shall  it 
be  accomplished,  since  the  first  task  of  Puseyism  is  to  say  to  all, 
that  it  is  already  accomplished  ;  that  all  who  have  been  baptized 
have  thereby  been  rendered  partakers  of  the  divine  nature  ;  and 
that  to  preach  conversion  again  to  them  is  contrary  to  the  truth.' 
•'  It  is  baptism  and  not  faith,"  says  one  of  these  doctors,  "  that  is 
the  primary  mstrument  of  justification  ;"t  and  we  know  that  with 

*  British  Critic.  t  Newman  on  Justification. 


PUSEYISM  EXAMINED.  293 

them  justification  and  conversion  are  one  and  the  same  work. 
To  prevent  the  wretched  from  escaping  from  the  miserable  state 
in  Avhich  they  are,  would  not  be  the  best  means  to  persuade  a 
poor  mail  that  he  possesses  a  large  fortune,  or  an  ignorant  man 
that  he  has  great  science,  or  a  sick  man  that  he  is  in  perfect 
health.  The  Evil  One  could  not  invent  a  stratagem  more  fit  to 
prevent  conversion,  than  this  idea  that  all  men  who  have  been 
baptized  by  water  are  regenerated. 

Still  more,  these  doctors  extend  to  the  holy  Supper  this  same 
magic  virtue.  "  It  is  now  almost  universally  believed,"  say  they, 
in  speaking  of  their  Church,  "  that  God  communicates  grace  only 
through  faith,  prayer,  spiritual  contemplation,  communion  with 
God  ;  whilst  it  is  the  Church  and  her  sacraments  which  are  the 
ordained,  direct,  visible  means  for  conveying  to  the  soul  that 
which  is  invisible  and  supernatural  It  is  said,  for  example, 
that  to  administer  the  Supper  to  infants,  to  dying  persons  ap- 
parently deprived  of  tlieir  senses,  however  pious  they  may  have 
been,  is  a  superstition  ;  and  yet  these  practices  are  sanctioned  by 
antiquity.  The  essence  of  the  sectarian  doctrine  is  to  consider 
faith,  and  not  the  sacra7nents,  as  the  means  of  justification  and  other 
evangelical  gifts."* 

What  then,  a  child  which  does  not  possess  reason  and  which 
does  not  know  even  how  to  speak,  a  sick  man  whom  the  approach 
of  death  has  deprived  of  perception  and  intelligence,  shall  they 
receive  grace  purely  by  the  external  application  of  the  sacraments  ? 
The  will,  the  afi'ections  of  the  heart,  have  they  no  need  to  be 
touched  in  order  that  man  may  be  sanctified.'  What  a  degrada- 
tion of  man  and  of  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ !  Is  there  a  great 
difference  between  such  ceremonies  and  the  mummeries  and 
charms  of  the  debased  Hindoos  or  of  the  African  savages  ! 

If  the  first  error  of  Oxford  deprives  the  Church  of  light,  if  the 
second  deprives  her  of  salvation,  the  third  deprives  her  of  all  real 
sanctification.  Without  doubt,  we  believe  the  sacraments  are 
means  of  grace ;  biu  they  are  only  so  when  faith  accompanies 
their  use.  To  put  faith  and  the  sacraments  in  opposition,  as  the 
Oxford  doctors  do,  is  to  annihilate  the  efficacy  of  the  sacraments 
themselves. 

The  Church  will  rise  up  against  such  fatal  errors.  There  is  a 
work  of  renovation  which  must  be  wrought  in  man,  a  personal  or 
individual  work  ;  and  it  is  God  who  performs  it.  "  A  new  heart," 
saith  the  Lord,  will  I  give  you,  and  a  new  spirit  will  I  put  within 
you."  (Ez.  xxxvi.  26.) 

By  what  right  would  they  thus  put  the  Church  in  the  place  of 
God,  and  establish  her  clergy  as  the  dispensers  of  divine  life  .' 

Then  it  would  be  of  little  consequence  that  a  man  had  led  a 
dissipated  life,  and  that  the  heart  remains  attached  to  sin  and  the 
world;  would  not  a  participation  iu  the  sacraments  of  religion 
suffice  to  put  him  in  possession  of  grace  .'  We  are  assured  that 
already  sad  consequences  are  manifested  in  the  life  of  many  of  the 
adherents  of  Oxford. 

♦  Tracts  for  the  Times.    Advertisement  in  Vol.  ii. 


294  PUSEYISM  EXAMINED- 

The  system  of  Puseyism  tends  to  lull  the  conscience  to  sleep, 
by  the  participation  of  external  rites :  the  Evangelical  system 
tends  to  awaken  it  without  cessation.  The  work  of  the  Spirit, 
which  is  one  of  the  grand  principles  of  Evangelical  Christianity, 
does  not  consist  only  in  regeneration  ;  it  consists  also  in  a  sancti- 
fication,  fundamental  and  universal.  If,  instead  of  permitting 
ourselves  to  be  enfeebled  by  trusting  to  human  ordinances,  we 
have  truly  the  Spirit  of  Christ  within  us,  we  shall  not  suffer  the 
least  contradiction  to  exist  between  the  divine  law  on  the  one 
hand,  and  our  dispositions  and  actions  on  the  other.  We  shall 
not  content  ovirselves  with  abstaining  from  the  grosser  manifesta- 
tions of  sin,  but  we  shall  desire  that  the  very  germ  of  evil  be 
eradicated  from  our  hearts.  We  shall  love  the  Truth,  and  we 
shall  reject  with  horror  that  sad  hypocrisy  which  sometimes  de- 
files the  sanctuary.  We  shall  not  have  in  the  communication  of 
our  religious  convictions  that  reserve  which  Puseyism  prescribes: 
"  that  which  shall  have  been  told  to  us  in  the  ear,  we  shall  pro- 
claim on  the  housetops."  (Matth.  x.  27.)  We  shall  not  remain 
in  a  Church  whose  most  sacred  truths  we  trainple  under  our  feet, 
eating  the  bread  which  she  gives  us  and  lifting  up  the  arm  to 
strike  her.  From  the  moment  that  we  shall  have  discovered 
that  a  doctrine  is  opposed  to  the  word  of  God,  neither  dangers  nor 
sacrifices  shall  prevent  us  from  casting  it  far  from  us.  The  work 
of  the  Spirit  "will  carry  light  into  the  most  secret  recesses  of  our 
hearts.  "  The  King's  daughter  is  all  glorious  within."  (Ps.  xlv. 
13.)  The  King  whom  we  follow  has  said  to  us :  "  I  am  the  light 
of  the  world  :  he  that  folio weth  me  shall  not  walk  in  darkness, 
but  shall  have  the  light  of  life."    (John  viii.  12.) 


I  repeat  again  in  closing.  Gentlemen,  the  three  great  principles 
of  Christianity  are  these  : 

The  Word  of  God,  only. 
The  Grace  of  God,  only. 
The  Work  of  the  Spirit,  only. 

I  come  now  to  ask  you  to  apply  to  yourselves  henceforth  more 
and  more  these  principles,  and  let  them  reign  supremely  over 
your  hearts  and  lives. 

And  why,  Gentlemen  .'  Because  everything  that  places  our 
souls  in  immediate  communication  with  God  is  salutary ;  and 
everything  that  interposes  between  God  and  our  souls  is  injurious 
and  ruinous.  If  a  thick  cloud  should  pass  between  you  and  the 
sun  you  would  no  longer  feel  its  genial  warmth,  and  might  per- 
haps be  seized  with  a  chill.  So  if  you  place  between  yourselves 
and  the  Word  of  God  the  tradition  and  authority  of  the  Church, 
you  will  no  longer  have  to  do  with  the  Word  of  God ;  that  is 
to  say,  with  a  divine,  and  consequently  a  powerful  and  perfect 
instrument ;  but  with  the  word  of  man ;  that  is  to  say,  with  a 
human,  and  consequently  a  weak  and  defective  instrument,  it 
will  have  lost  that  power  which  translates  from  darkness  into 
light. 


PUSEYISM  EXAMINED.  295 

Or,  if  you  place  between  the  grace  of  God  and  yourselves  the 
ordhiances  of  the  Church,  the  ej)iscopal  priesthood,  the  disposi- 
tions of  the  heart,  works,  grace  will  then  be  no  more  grace,  as  St. 
Paul  says.  The  instrument  of  God  will  have  been  broken,  and 
we  shall  no  longer  be  able  to  say,  that  "  charity  proceeds  from 
faith  unfeigned"  (1  Tim.  i.);  that  "faith  worketh  by  love," 
(Gal  V.) ;  "  that  our  souls  are  jjurified  in  obeying  the  triuh"  (1 
Cor.  i.) ;  "  that  Christ  dwells  in  our  hearts  by  faith"  (Eph.  iii). 

Man  always  seeks  to  return,  in  some  way,  to  a  human  salva- 
tion ;  this  is  the  source  of  the  innovations  of  Rome  and  of  Oxford. 
The  substitution  of  the  Church  for  Jesus  Christ  is  that  which  es- 
sentially characterizes  these  opinions.  It  is  no  longer  Christ  who 
enlightens,  Christ  who  saves,  Christ  who  forgives,  Christ  who 
commands,  Christ  who  judges;  it  is  the  Church  and  always  the 
Church,  that  is  to  say,  an  assembly  of  sinful  men,  as  weak  and 
prone  to  err  as  ourselves.  "  They  have  taken  away  the  Lord, 
and  "vve  know  not  where  they  have  laid  him"  (^John  xx.  2). 

The  errors  which  we  have  indicated  are,  therefore,  practical 
errors,  destructive  of  true  piety  in  the  soul,  a  deprivation  of  God's 
influence,  and  an  exaltation  of  the  flesh,  although  in  a  form  that 
"  has  the  show  of  wisdom  in  Avill-worship  and  humility"  (Col.  ii. 
23).  If  they  should  ever  obtain  the  ascendency  in  the  Church, 
Christianity  would  cease  to  be  a  wew,  a  holy,  a  spiritual,  a  heav- 
enly life.  It  would  become  an  external  affair  of  ordinances,  rites 
and  ceremonies.  This  has  been  clearly  seen  by  the  servant  of 
God,  Avhom  we  have  already  quoted :  "  Finally,"  says  Sumner, 
Bishop  of  Winchester,  "  I  cannot  but  fear  the  consequences  that  a 
system  of  teaching,  which  confines  itself  to  the  external  and  ritual 
parts  of  divine  worship,  while  it  loses  sight  of  their  internal  signi- 
fication and  the  spiritual  life,  may  have  upon  the  character,  the 
efficacy  and  the  truth  of  our  Church ;  a  system,  which  robs  the 
Church  of  its  brightest  glory,  and,  forgetting  the  continual  presence 
of  the  Lord,  seems  to  depose  him  from  his  just  pre-eminence  ;  a 
system,  Avhich  tends  to  put  the  observance  of  days,  months,  times 
and  seasons,  in  the  place  of  a  true  and  spiritual  worship ;  which 
substitutes  a  spirit  of  hesitation,  fear  and  doubt,  for  the  cordial 
obedience  of  filial  love  ;  a  slavish  spirit  for  the  liberty  of  the  Gos- 
pel ;  and  which,  indeed,  calls  upon  us  to  work  out  our  sauctifica- 
tiou  with  fear  and  trembling  ;  but  without  any  foretaste  of  the  rest 
that  remainetii  for  the  people  of  God,  Avithout  giving  us  joy  in 
believing."* 

The  luiiversal  Church  of  Christ  rejoices  to  hear  such  words. 
She  beholds,  with  gratitude  towards  her  divhie  Head,  the  firmness 
with  which  some  bishops,  ministers,  and  laymen  of  England  meet 
this  growing  evil.  But  is  this  enough  .'  Is  it  enough  to  retain,  on 
the  edge  of  a  precipice,  a  Church  and  a  people,  hitherto  so  dear 
to  the  friends  of  the  Gospel  .' 

Oxford  conducts  to  Rome  ;  Mr.  Sibthorp  and  others  have  proved 
it.     The  march  of  Puscyism  regularly  inclining,  from  Tract  to 

*  Charge  delivered  by  Ch.  R.  Sumner,  D.D.,  Lord  Bishop  of  Winchester, 
184L 


296  PUSEYISM   EXAMINED. 

Tract,  towards  the  pure  system  of  the  Papacy,  demonstrates 
clearly  enough  the  end  to  which  it  tends.  And  even  if  it  should 
not  effect  a  total  conversion  to  Popery — what  signifies  it,  since  it 
is  nothing  else  than  the  Popish  system  (in  its  essential  features) 
transferred  to  England  ?  It  is  not  necessary  that  the  Thames 
should  go  to  Rome  to  bear  the  tribute  of  its  waters :  the  Tiber  flows 
in  Oxford. 

England  owes  everything  to  the  Reformation.  What  was  she 
before  the  renovation  of  the  Church  ?  Blindly  submissive  to  the 
Tudors,  her  forms  of  government,  both  political  and  ecclesiastical, 
were  superannuated,  without  life  and  spirit;  so  that  in  England, 
as  in  almost  all  Europe,  Ave  might  say,  with  a  Christian  states- 
man, that,  "  despotism  seemed  the  only  preservative  against  dis- 
solution."* The  Reformation  developed,  in  an  admirable  manner, 
that  Christian  spirit,  that  love  of  liberty,  that  fear  of  God,  that 
loyal  affection  for  the  sovereign,  that  patriotism,  those  generous 
sacrifices,  that  genius,  that  strength,  that  activity,  which  constitute 
the  prosperity  and  glory  of  England.  In  the  age  of  the  Reformation, 
Catholic  Spain,  gorged  with  the  blood  of  the  children  of  God,  fell, 
overthrown  by  the  Almighty  Arm,  and  reformed  England  ascended, 
in  hei:  stead,  the  throne  of  the  seas,  which  has  been  justly  termed 
the  throne  of  the  world.  The  winds  which  engulphed  the  Armada 
called  up  this  new  power  from  the  depths. 

The  country  of  Philip  II.,  Avounded  to  the  heart  because  she  had 
attacked  the  people  of  God,  dropped  from  her  hand  the  sceptre  of 
the  ocean ;  and  the  country  of  Ehzabeth,  fortified  by  the  Word  of 
God,  found  it  floating  on  the  seas,  seized  it,  and  Avielded  it  to 
bring  into  subjection  to  the  King  of  Heaven  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  It  is  the  Gospel  that  has  given  to  England  our  antipodes. f 
It  is  the  God  of  the  Gospel  who  has  bestowed  upon  her  all  that 
she  possesses.  If  in  those  distinguished  islands  the  Gospel  were 
to  fall  under  the  united  attacks  of  Popery  and  Puseyism,  we  might 
write  upon  their  hitherto  triumphant  banner  :  "  Ichabod,  the  gloiy 
of  the  Lord  has  departed." 

God  has  given  the  dominion  of  the  seas  to  the  nations  who  bear, 
everywhere,  with  them  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Ghrist.  But  if,  in- 
stead of  the  Good  News  of  Salvation,  England  carries  to  the  hea- 
then a  mere  human  and  priestly  religion,  God  will  deprive  her  of 
her  power.  The  evil  is  already  great.  In  India  the  Pnseyite  mis- 
sionaries are  satisfied  with  teaching  the  natives  rites  and  cere- 
monies, without  troubling  themselves  about  the  conversion  of  the 
heart;  thus  treading  closely  in  the  steps  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  They  endeavor  to  counteracfthe  efforts  of  evangelical 
missionaries,  and  disturb  the  weak  minds  of  the  natives,  by  telling 
them  that  all  those  who  have  not  received  Episcopal  ordination 
are  not  ministers. 

If  England  prove  unfaithful  to  the  Gospel,  God  will  humble  her 

*  Archives  of  the  House  of  Orange-Nassau,  pubhshed  at  the  Hague,  by 
Mr.  Green  Van  Prinsterer,  Counsellor  of  State. 
t  New  Zealand. 


PUSEYISM   EXAMINED.  297 

in  ihose  powerful  islands  where  she  has  established  her  throne, 
and  in  those  distant  countries  subjected  to  her  sway.  Do  Ave  not 
already  hear  a  faint  rumor,  which  justifies  these  gloomy  presenti- 
ments ?  The  mother  country  sees  her  difficulties  increase ;  un- 
heard of  disasters  have  spread  fear  and  terror  on  the  banks  of  the 
Indus.  From  the  chariot  of  this  people  is  heard  a  cracking  noise, 
because  impious  hands  have  changed  the  pole-bolt.  Should  Eng- 
land forsake  the  faith  of  the  Bible,  the  crown  would  fall  from  her 
head.  Ah!  We  also,  Christians  of  the  continent  and  of  the  world, 
would  mourn  over  her  faU  !  We  love  her  for  Christ's  sake;  for 
His  sake  we  pray  for  her.  But  if  the  apostasy,  now  begun,  should, 
be  accomplished,  we  shall  have  ^nothing  left  for  her  but  cries, 
groans  and  tears. 

What  are  the  Bishops  doing?  What  is  the  Church  doing? 
This  is  the  general  question. 

If  the  Church  of  England  were  well  administered,  she  wovdcl 
only  admit  to  her  pulpits  teachers  who  submit  to  the  Word  of  God, 
agreeably  to  the  Thirty-nine  Articles,  and  banish  from  them  all 
those  who  violate  her  laws,  and  poison  the  miuds  of  the  youth, 
trouble  souls,  and  seek  to  overthrow  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 

A  few  Episcopal  mandates  will  not  accomplish  this.  We  un- 
doubtedly believe  that  no  power  can  take  from  the  Christian  the 
right  to  "  examine  the  Scriptures,  and  to  try  the  spirits  whether 
they  are  of  God."  But  we  do  not  believe  in  the  supreme  power 
of  the  Clergy :  We  do  not  believe  that  the  servants  of  a  church 
may  announce  to  it  doctrines  which  tend  to  overthrow  it.  Did  it 
not  please  the  Apostles,  the  ciders,  and  the  whole  church,  to  im- 
pose silence  upon  those  at  Antioch,  who  wished  to  substitute,  as 
they  do  now  at  Oxford,  human  ordinances  for  the  grace  of  Christ  ? 
(Acts  XV.  22.)  Since  when,  does  a  well  constituted  Church  speak 
only  through  isolated  voices  ?  Shall  the  Annual  Convocations  of 
the  Cluu'ch  of  England  remain  ah^^ays  a  vain  ceremony  and  an 
empty  form  ?  If  their  nature  cannot  be  changed,  shall  not  power- 
ful remedies  be  applied  to  counteract  great  evils  ?  Will  not  the 
Church  be  moved  in  England,  as  formerly  at  Jerusalem?  Shall 
not  the  "  elders  and  the  whole  Church"  (Acts  xv.  22)  form  a 
Coimcil  which  shall,  as  tradition  tells  us  they  did  at  Nice,  place 
the  Word  of  God  vipon  an  elevated  throne,  in  token  of  its  supreme 
authority,  and,  condemning  and  cutting  off  all  dangerous  errors, 
render  to  Jesus  Christ  and  his  Word  that  sovereign  authority, 
which  usurping  hands  are  on  the  point  of  wresting  from  Him  ? 

But  if  the  Church  still  holds  her  peace,  if  she  allows  her  sacred 
foundations  to  be  sapped  in  her  Universities,  then  (we  say  it  with 
profound  grief)  a  voice  like  that  of  the  prophet  will  be  heard  ex- 
claiming :  Woe  to  the  Church  !  v/oe  to  the  people!  woe  to  Eng- 
land ! 

Gentlemen,  there  are  two  ways  of  destroying  Christianity;  one 
is  to  deny  it,  the  other  to  displace  it.  To  put  the  Church  above 
Christianity,  the  hierarchy  above  the  Word  of  God  ;  to  ask  a  man, 
not  whether  he  has  received  the  Holy  Ghost,  but  whether  he  lias 
received  baptism  from  the  hands  of  those  who  are  termed  succes- 


598  PUSEYISM   EXAMINED. 

sors  of  the  Apostles,  and  their  delegates, — all  this  may  doubtless 
flatter  the  pride  of  the  natural  man,  but  is  fundamentally  opposed 
to  the  Bible,  and  aims  a  fatal  blow  at  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ. 
If  God  had  intended  that  Christianity  should,  like  the  Mosaic  sys- 
tem, be  chiefly  an  ecclesiastical,  sacerdotal  and  hierarchical  sys- 
tem, he  would  have  ordered  it  and  established  it  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament, as  he  did  in  the  Old.  But  there  is  nothing  like  this  in  the 
New  Testament.  All  the  declarations  of  our  Lord  and  his  Apos- 
tles tend  to  prove,  that  the  new  religion  given  to  the  world  is 
•'  life  and  Spirit,"  and  not  a  new  system  of  priesthood  [and  ordi- 
nances. "  The  kingdom  of  God,"  saith  Jesus,  "  cometh  not  with 
observation :  neither  shall  they  say,  lo  here  !  or  lo  there  !  for  be- 
hold the  kingdom  of  God  is  within  you"  (Luke  zvii.  20,  21). 
•'  The  kmgdom  of  God  is  not  meat  and  drink  ;  but  righteousness 
and  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost"  (Rom.  xiv.  17). 

Let  us  then  attribute  a  divine  institution  and  a  divine  authority 
to  the  essence  of  the  Church  ;  but  by  no  means  to  its /or?re.  God 
has  midoubtedly  established  the  mmistry  of  the  Word  and  sacra- 
ments, that  is  to  say,  general  forms,  which  are  adapted  to  the 
universal  Church  ;  but  it  is  a  narrow  and  dangerous  bigotry,  which 
would  attribute  more  importance  to  the  particular  forms  of  each 
sect,  than  to  the  spirit  of  Christianity.  This  evil  has  long  pre- 
vailed in  the  Eastern  Church  [Greek],  and  has  rendered  it  barren. 
It  is  the  essence  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  and  it  is  destroying  it. 
It  is  endeavoring  to  insinuate  itself  into  every  Church  ;  it  appears 
in  England  in  the  Established  Church ;  in  Germany  in  the  Lutheran, 
and  even  ua  the  Reformed  and  Presbyterian  Church.  It  is  that 
mystery  of  iniquity,  which  already  began  to  work  in  the  time  of 
the  Apostles.  (2  Thess.  ii.  7.)  Let  us  reject  and  oppose  this  deadly 
principle  wherever  it  is  found.  We  are  men  before  we  are  Swiss, 
French,  English,  or  German ;  let  us  also  remember  that  we  are 
Christians  before  we  are  Episcopalians,  Lutherans,  Reformed,  or 
Dissenters.  These  different  forms  of  the  Church  are  like  the  dif- 
ferent costumes,  different  features,  and  fdifferent  characters  of 
nations ;  that  wlaich  constitutes  the  man  is  not  found  in  these 
accessories.  We  must  seek  for  it  in  the  heart  which  beats  under 
this  exterior,  in  the  conscience  which  is  seated  there,  in  the  intel- 
ligence which  there  shines,  in  the  will  which  there  acts.  If  we 
assign  more  importance  to  the  Church  than  to  Christianity,  to  the 
form  than  to  the  life,  we  shall  infallibly  reap  that  which  we  have 
sown ;  we  shall  soon  have  a  Church  composed  of  skeletons, 
clothed  it  may  be  in  brilliant  garments,  and  ranged,  I  admit,  in  a 
most  imposing  order  to  the  eye  ;  but  as  cold,  stiff,  and  immovea- 
ble as  a  pale  legion  of  the  dead.  If  Puseyism  (and,  unfortunately, 
some  of  the  doctrines  which  it  promulgates  are  not,  in  England, 
confined  to  that  school),  if  Puseyism  should  make  progress  m  the 
Established  Church,  it  will,  in  a  few  years,  dry  up  all  its  springs 
of  life.  The  feverish  excitement  which  disease  at  first  produces, 
will  soon  give  way  to  languor,  the  blood  will  be  congealed,  the 
muscles  stiffened,  and  that  Church  will  be  only  a  dead  body, 
around  which  the  eagles  will  gather  together. 


PUSEYISM   EXAmNED.  299 

All  forms,  whether  papal,  patriarchal,  episcopal,  consistorial,  or 
presbyterian,  possess  only  a  human  value  and  authority.  Let  us 
not  esteem  the  bark  above  the  sap,  the  body  above  the  soul,  the 
form  above  the  life,  the  visible  Church  above  the  invisible,  the 
priest  above  the  Holy  Spirit.  Let  us  hate  all  sectarian,  ecclesias- 
tical, national  or  dissenting  spirit ;  but  let  vis  love  Jesus  Christ  in 
all  sects,  whether  ecclesiastical,  national  or  dissenting.  The  true 
catholicity  which  we  have  lost,  and  which  we  must  seek  to  reco- 
ver, is  that  of  "  holding  the  Truth,  in  love."  A  renovation  of  the 
Church  is  necessary ;  I  know  it,  I  feel  it,  I  pray  for  it  from  the 
bottom  of  my  soul.  Only  let  us  seek  for  it  in  the  right  way. 
Forms,  ecclesiastical  constitutions,  the  organization  of  Churches, 
are  important, — very  important.  "  But  let  us  seek  first  the  king- 
dom of  God  and  His  righteousness,  and  all  these  things  will  be 
added  unto  us."  (Matt.  vi.  33.) 

Let  us  then.  Gentlemen,  be  firm  and  decided  in  the  Truth;  and 
while  we  love  the  erring,  let  us  boldly  attack  the  error.  Let  us  stand 
upon  the  rock  of  ages, — the  AVord  of  God ;  and  let  the  vain  opi- 
nions, and  stale  innovations,  which  are  constantly  springing  up 
and  dying  in  the  world,  break  powerless  at  our  feet.  "  Two 
systems  of  doctrine,"  says  Dr.  Pusey,  "  have  now",  and,  probably, 
for  the  last  time,  met  in  conflict;  the  system  of  Geneva  and  the 
Catholic  system."  We  accept  this  definition.  One  of  the  men 
Avho  have  most  powerfully  resisted  these  errors,  the  Rev.  W, 
Goode,  seems  to  think  that  by  the  Genevan  system,  Dr.  Pusey  in- 
tends to  designate  the  Unitarian,  Pelagian,  latitudinarian  system, 
which  has  laid  waste  the  Church,  not  only  in  Geneva,  but  throagh- 
out  Christendom.  "  According  to  Romish  tactics,"  says  Mr.  Goode, 
*'  the  adversaries  of  the  Oxford  School  are  classed  together  under 
the  name  that  will  render  them  most  odious ;  they  belong,  it^is 
said,  to  the  Genevan  School* 

Certainly,  Gentlemen,  if  the  Unitarian  School  of  England  fand 
Geneva  were  called  upon  to  struggle  with  the  semi-Papal  School 
of  Oxford,  \ve  should  much  fear  the  issue.  But  these  divines 
will  meet  with  other  opponents  in  England,  Scotland  and  Ireland, 
on  the  continent,  and  if  need  be,  even  in  our  little  and  humble 
Geneva. 

Yes,  we  agree  to  it;  it  is  the  system  of  Geneva,  Avhich  is  now 
struggling  with  the  Catholic  system  ;  but  it  is  the  system  of  the 
ancient  Geneva;  it  is  the  system  of  Calvin  and  Beza,  the  system 
of  the  Gospel  and  the  Reformation.  The  opprobrium  they  would 
cast  upon  us  we  receive  as  an  honor  ;  three  centuries  ago  Geneva 
rose  against  Rome ;  let  Geneva  now  rise  against  Oxford. 

"  I  should  like,"  ^says  one  of  the  Oxford  doctors,!  "  to  see  the 

*  The  Case  as  it  is, 

tW.  Palmer's  Aids  to  Reflection,  1841.  This  work  contains  some 
curious,  and,  without  aoubt,  authentic  conversations,  which  Mr.  Palmer 
had  at  Geneva,  in  1836,  with  different  pastors  and  professors  of  the  Aca- 
demy and  the  Company,  "/u^y  26.  The  public  professor  of  Dogmatic 
Theology  told  me,  when  1  asked  him  what  was  the  precise  doctrine  of  the 


300  PUSEYISM   EXAMINED. 

Patriarch  of  Constantinople  and  onr  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  go 
barefoot  to  Rome,  throw  their  arms  round  the  Pope,  kiss  him, 
and  not  let  him  go,  till  they  had  persuaded  him  to  be  more  rea- 
sonable ;"  that  is  to  say,  doubtless,  until  he  had  extended  his 
hand  to  them,  and  ceased  to  proclaim  them  heretics  and 
schismatics. 

Evangelical  Christians  of  Geneva,  England,  and  all  other  coun- 
tries !  It  is  not  to  Rome  that  you  must  drag  yourselves,  "  to 
those  seven  mountains,  on  which  the  woman  sitteth,  having  a 
golden  cup  in  her  hand,  full  of  abominations"  (Rev.  xvii.) ;  the 
pilgrimage  that  you  must  make  is  to  that  excellent  and  perfect 
tabernacle,  "  not  made  with  hands"  (Heb.  ix.) ;  that  "throne  of 
grace,  Avhere  we  find  grace  to  help  in  time  of  need."  (Heb.  iv.) 

It  is  not  upon  the  neck  of  the  "  Man  of  Sin,"  that  you  must  cast 
yourselves,  covering  him  with  your  kisses  and  your  tears ;  but 
upon  the  neck  of  Him  with  whom  "  Jacob  wrestled,  until  the 
breaking  of  the  day"  (Gen.  xxxii.) ;  of  Him  "  who  is  seated  at 
the  right  hand  of  God  in  the  heavenly  places,  far  above  all  prin- 
cipality, and  power,  and  every  name  that  is  named,  not  only  in 
thi%  world ;  but  also  in  that  which  is  to  come."  (Eph.  v.) 

Yes,  let  the  children  of  God  in  the  East  and  in  the  West  arise, 
let  them,  understanding  the  signs  of  the  times,  and  seeing  that  the 
destinies  of  the  Church  depend  upon  the  issue  of  the  present  con- 
flicts, conflicts  so  numerous,  so  different,  and  so  powerful,  for  a 
sacred  brotherhood,  and  with  one  heart,  and  one  soul,  exclaim, 
as  Moses  did  v/hen  the  ark  set  forward,  "  Rise  up.  Lord,  and  let 
thine  enemies  be  scattered,  and  let  them  that  hate  Thee  flee  be- 
fore Thee."  (Num.  x.  35.) 

Company  of  Pastors  at  that  time,  on  the  subject  of  the  Trinity,  "  Perhaps 
no  two  had  exactly  the  same  shade  of  opinion,  that  the  great  majority 
would  deny  the  doctrine  in  the  scholastic  sense." — August  A.  A  pasior  of 
the  Company  told  me,  "  that  of  thirty-four  members,  he  thinks  there 
are  only  four  who  would  admit  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity."  The  author 
was  almost  as  much  dissatisfied  with  the  Evangelical  as  with  the  Unitari- 
an ministers.  He  relates  that  one  of  the  former  said  to  him,  on  the  12th 
of  August ;  "  You  are  lost  in  the  study  of  outward  forms,  mere  worldly 
vanities :  You  are  a  baby,  a  mere  baby,  he  said  in  English." 


THS   ENP. 


BY  REV.  EDWIN  HALL. 

PUBLISHED  BY  BAKER  &  SCniBNER,  145  NASSAU  STREET, 


OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS- 

From  the  New  York  Observer. 
The  Puritans   and  their  Principles.      By  Edwin 

Hall.     New  York:  Baker  &  Scribner.     1846. 

Mr.  Hall  is  the  able  pastor  of  the  Congregational 
Church,  in  Norwalk,  Ct.  He  writes  with  vigor,  and  in 
the  midst  of  all  his  disquisitions,  does  not  fail  to  sustain 
the  interest  of  the  reader.  The  work  before  us  is  the 
fruit  of  much  research  and  thought,  and  will  stand,  in 
our  opinion,  as  a  noble  defence  of  the  character  and  prin- 
ciples of  men  whose  monument  is  civil  and  religious 
liberty  in  the  earth. 

This  volume  is  richly  worthy  of  a  place  in  the  library 
of  every  college,  and  of  every  man  who  wishes  to  under- 
stand the  true  greatness  of  the  Puritans.  We  presume 
that  it  will  be  very  generally  sought  after  and  extensively 
read.    .^ 

From  the  N.  Y.  Evening  Express. 
They  set  forth  the  causes  which  brought  the  Pilgrims 
to  these  shores,  their  principles,  and  vindicate  them  from 
the  aspersions  which  have  been  cast  upon  them.  The 
subject  is  one  of  the  greatest  interest  to  any  person  who 
has  any  desire  to  know  the  history  of  his  own  country, 
and  to  be  acquainted  with  the  principles  and  suti'erings 
of  the  most  remarkable  men  that  ever  reached  this  con- 
tinent. 

From  the  N.   Y.  IVibmie. 
This  is  an  interesting  work  for  all  who  in  our  day  ad- 
here to  the  principles   of  the   Puritans,  or  rejoice  in  a 
descent  from  the  noble  stock  who  were  the  champions 
of  Freedom  two  centuries  ago. 


2  PURITANS  AND  THEIR  PRINCIPLES. 

From  the  New  Haven  Courier. 

The  design  of  the  work  is  to  set  forth  the  Causes 
which  brought  the  Pilgrims  to  these  shores ;  to  exhibit 
iheu principles ;  to  show  what  these  principles  are  worth, 
and  what  it  cost  to  maintain  them-,  to  vindicate  the 
character  of  the  Purrtans  from  the  aspersions  which 
have  been  cast  upon  them,  and  to  show  the  Puritanic 
SYSTEM  OF  Church  Polity,— as  distinguished  from  the 
Prelatic, — broadly  and  solidly  based  on  the  word  of  God ; 
inseparable  from  religious  Purity  and  Religious  Free- 
dom ;  and  of  immense  permanent  importance  to  the  best 
interests  of  mankind. 

The  publication  is  intended  to  bring  together  such  his- 
torical information  concerning  the  Puritans,  as  is  now 
scattered  through  many  volumes,  and  cannot  be  obtained 
but  with  much  labor  and  research,  and  an  outlay  beyond 
the  means  of  ordinary  readers. 

From  the  N.  Y.  Commercial  Advcrttscr. 
The  author  enters  with  considerable  minuteness  into 
English  ecclesiastical  history  prior  to  the  persecutions  of 
the  Puritans,  reviews  the  events  which  more  immediately 
led  to  their  emigration  to  this  country,  traces  the  effects 
of  that  step  on  the  institutions  and  religious  character  of 
the  people  of  both  continents,  and  then  enters  into  an  ana- 
lysis of  both  prelatical  and  Puritanical  church  polity,  and 
■warmly  and  eloquently  defends  the  latter.  The  style  of  the 
•work  is  vigorous  and  clothes  a  subject  on  which  much 
has  been  already  written  with  new  attractions,  combining 
succinctness  of  historical  detail  with  elegance  of  diction. 

From  the  N.  Y.  Courier  fy  Enqivirer. 
Puritans  and  their  Principles  is  the  title  of  a  very  hand- 
some octavo  volume,  by  Edwin  Hall,  which  has  just 
been  published  by  IVIessrs.  Baker  &  Scribner,  at  14.') 
Nassau  street.  Its  purpose  is  to  enable  the  public  to 
judge  concerning  the  character  and  history  of  the  Puri- 
tans, which,  as  he  contends,  are  now  so  perse veiingly  and 
so  violently  assailed  ;  and  he  has  discharged  the  labori- 
ous task  with  great  zeal  and  ability.  He  says  the  ut- 
most pains  have  been  taken  to  caricature  the  principles, 
and  to  blacken  the  history  of  the  Puritans;  and  as  an 
evidence  of  this  he  cites  the  fact  that  very  many  persons 
at  the  present  day  believe  that  the  famous  code  entitled 
the  "  Blue  Laivs  of  Connecticut,"  once  actually  had  a 


PURITANS    AND    THEIR    PRINCIPLES.  3 

place  among  the  statutes  of  that  colony ;— whereas,  in 
point  of  fact,  they  were  the  work  of  a  Tory  clergyman, 
and  written  expressly  to  blacken  the  character  of  the 
rebel  colonists. 

The  volume  exhibits  proof  of  the  industry  and  zeal  of 
the  author,  no  less  than  of  his  ability  and  devotion  to  the 
principles  in  defence  of  which  he  writes.  As  to  the  cor- 
rectness of  these  principles,  of  course,  we  are  not  called 
upon  to  pronounce  any  judgment ;  but  all  who  are  inter- 
ested in  the  subject,  as  indeed  nearly  all  intelligent  per- 
sons must  of  necessity  be,  may  rely  upon  finding  in  this 
volume  much  matter,  of  fact  and  of  argument,  that  will 
essentially  guide  their  investigations. 

The  work  is  printed  in  very  handsome  style,  and  re- 
flects great  credit  upon  the  newly  established  house  by 
which  it  is  published. 

From  the  New  Emgland  Puritan. 
This  is  a  neatly  printed  octavo,  of  between  400  and 
600  pages,  from  the  pen  of  one  who  has  proved  himself  a 
master  of  his  subject.  It  gives  the  history  of  the  Puri- 
tans, embracing  the  most  of  its  material  and  interesting 
facts ;  and  also  makes  these  facts  subserve  a  defence  of 
the  character  and  principles  of  our  ancestors.  The  work 
is  ably  and  thoroughly  executed,  and  it  ought  to  furnish 
a  part  of  the  library  of  every  descendant  of  the  Puritans. 

From  the  N.  Y.  Christian  Intelligencer. 

This  is  a  beautiful  octavo,  of  over  400  pp.,  handsomely 
printed.  As  it  has  but  just  reached  us,  we  have  given  it, 
as  yet,  only  a  cursoiy  examination.  We  regard  it  as  a 
very  valuable  book.  It  contains  a  large  amount  of  im- 
portant historical  matter,  in  a  condensed  form  ;  precious 
under  all  circumstances,  but  especially  useful  in  our 
times,  when  both  Scripture  and  history  are  studiously 
distorted  to  prove  the  inventions  of  men  superior  in  ex- 
cellence to  the  institutions  of  God. 

The  book  shows  the  causes  which  brought  the  Pil- 
grims to  our  shores;  exhibits  their  principles;  vindicates 
their  character  from  unjust  aspersions;  and  states  their 
system  of  church  polity,  as  distinguished  from  Prelacy. 
It  enters  into  the  history  of  the  Puritans  and  their  times  ; 
traces  their  progress  from  the  discovery  of  one  important 
principle  to  another;  e.xhibits  them  in  their  sufferings, 
wanderings,  and  landing  on  the  margin  of  this  wilder- 


4  PURITANS  AND  THEIR  PRINCIPLES. 

ness.  The  claims  of  Prelacy  the  author  subjects  to  the 
severe  test  of  the  Bible,  reason  and  history.  It  treats 
historically  of  England,  before  the  tinaes  of  Wickliffe  ;  of 
Wickliffe  and  his  times  ;  of  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.;  of 
Edward,  Mary  and  Elizabeth :  of  the  conflict  of  princi- 
ple; of  Puritan  sufferings;  of  the  judicious  Hooker  ;  of 
James  I.,  and  the  going  to  Holland ;  of  the  voyage  to 
America ;  of  the  Pilgrims  at  Plymouth ;  of  the  storm 
gathering  in  England;  Charles  I.;  Archbishop  Laud; 
founding  of  the  Puritan  churches ;  rise  of  the  civil  war  ; 
the  Rule  and  Judge  of  Failh  ;  on  the  alleged  right  to  im- 
pose liturgies  and  ceremonies  ;  on  schism  ;  the  Church, 
its  officers,  discipline;  Episcopacy;  Apostolic  succes- 
sion, &c., 

irom  the  Presbyterian. 
The  author  presents,  in  his  advertisement,  a  summary 
of  his  designs  in  this  publicatiofl,  which  are  "  to  set  forth 
the  causes  which  brought  the  Pilgrims  to  these  shores  ; 
to  exhibit  their  principles  ;  to  show  what  these  princi- 
ples are  worth,  and  what  it  cost  to  maintain  them ;  to 
vindicate  the  character  of  the  Puritans  from  the  asper- 
sions which  have  been  cast  upon  them,  and  to  show  the 
Puritanic  system  of  church  polity,  as  distinguished  from 
the  Prelatic."  All  this  is  accomplished  with  both  zeal 
and  knowledge,  and  the  whole  narrative,  extending  back 
to  the  early  times  of  the  Puritans,  and  embracing  a  most 
important  period  of  ecclesiastical  history,  is  full  ot  ab- 
sorbing interest,  not  merely  to  the  descendants  of  the 
Pilgrims,  but  to  every  American  Christian.  We  have 
met  with  no  work,  which,  to  our  mind,  presents  so  satis- 
factory, and  yet  succinct  a  history  of  the  times  and  eveHts 
to  which  it  refers. 

From  the  N.  Y.  Baptist  Recorder. 
The  work  of  Mr.  Hall  was  undertaken  con  amore, — his 
love  of  the  Puritans  is  deep  and  unbounded.  He  has  col- 
lected his  facts  from  an  extended  course  of  reading,  and 
expressed  his  thoughts  in  a  style  which,  if  not  brilliant, 
is  lucid  and  earnest.  We  hail  with  much  pleasure  all 
such  contributions  to  our  Historical  Literature.  We 
hope  those  who  have  read  Dr.  Coit  will  read  Mr.  Hall. 
Their  conclusion  w'ill  be  that  though  the  Puritans  were 
mortal,  and  are  justly  chargeable  with  many  inconsis- 
tencies and  errors,  they  were  still  a  noble  race,  the  trace 
of  whose  influence  is  found  in  the  best  institutions  of  the 
world. 


PURITANS  AiND  THElU  PRINCIPLES.  5 

From  the  N.  Y.  Evening  Post. 

The  object  of  the  work,  as  he  states  in  the  preface,  is 
to'set  forth  the  causes  which  led  the  Pilgrims  to  estab- 
lish themselves  on  this  continent,  to  exhibit  the  nature 
and  value  of  their  principles,  and  show  the  sacrifices  at 
which  they  were  maintained,  to  defend  tlieir  character 
against  the  attacks  levelled  against  it,  and  to  vindicate 
the  puritanic  system  of  Church  Polity. 

The  work  is  not  historical  merely,  but  in  a  good 
measure  controversial,  and  the  author  wields  the  wea- 
pons of  controversy  with  no  little  dexterity  and  vigor. 
The  Puritans  were  a  class  of  peculiarly  strong  and  decid- 
ed character — a  character  which  impressed  itself  upon 
the  age  in  which  they  arose,  and  the  influence  of  which 
yet  survives.  The  author  is  a  warm  admirer  of  this 
class,  and  defends  their  memory  with  zeal.  He  takes  oc- 
casion to  discuss  the  claims  of  prelacy  at  much  length, 
not  only  in  its  historical  but  in  its  other  aspects.  We 
have  no  doubt  that  the  work  w'ill  be  favorably  received  by 
the  large  religious  denomination  to  which  the  author 
belongs. 

From  the  Albany  American  Citizen. 
We  cannot  forbear  to  express  our  conviction  that  it  is        .  ..^ 
a  work  of  great  merit,  and  has  no  common  claims,  espe-  t 

cially  upon  the  regard  of  those  who  have  the  blood  of  the 
Puritans  flowing  in  their  veins.  Its  historical  details 
evince  the  most  diligent  research,  and  its  vigorous  and 
masterly  discussion  of  important  principles,  shows  a  ju- 
dicious, discriminating,  and  thoroughly  trained  mind.  As 
the  subjects  of  which  it  treats,  have,  to  a  great  extent,  a 
controversial  bearing,  it  cannot  be  expected,  that  all  will 
judge  in  the  same  manner  of  the  merits  of  the  book,  but 
we  think  all  who  possess  ordinary  candor  must  agree 
that  it  is  written  with  no  common  ability,  and  contains  a 
gi'eat  amount  of  useful  information. 

From  the  Hartford  Christian  Secretary. 
After  an  Introduction,  containing  a  glance  at  the  con- 
dition of  England  before  the  days  of  Wicklitfe,  we  are 
presented  with  a  history  of  Wicklifle  and  his  times,  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  and  the  rise  of  the  Puritans,  from 
whence  we  trace  them  in  their  conflicts,  visit  them  in 
their  prisons,  follow  them  in  their  wanderings,  and  come 
with  them  to  their  first  rude  dwellings  in  the  Ameri- 
can wilderness.    We  behold  the  foundation  here  rising 


6  PURITANS  AND  THEIR  PRINCIPLES. 

under  their  hands,  until  the  wilderness  became  transform- 
ed into  a  fair  and  fruitful  field.  The  principles  of  these 
noble  men  are  exhibited  and  explained.  The  matter  of 
Church  Polity  is  discussed,  and  the  claims  of  Prelacy  are 
brought  to  the  test  of  reason,  of  history,  and  of  the  word 
of  God. 

From  the  Christian  Intelligencer. 
We  venerate  the  character  and  the  principles  of  the 
Puritans  of  New  England.  Their  history  we  have  long 
since  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  important  triumphs  of 
conscience  and  truth  our  world  has  seen.  Our  country 
will  never  cease  to  feel  the  blessed  influence  of  their 
faith  and  principles;  and  we  rejoice  in  the  conviction, 
which  is  more  and  more  confirmed  by  every  year's  obser- 
vation, that  the  Puritan  theology  will  spread  itself 
widely  over  our  land,  and  especially  on  the  Sacramental 
question,  will  be  the  prevailing  view  of  American 
Christians.  We  read  with  interest,  accordingly,  the  ac- 
counts of  the  Pilgrim  Celebrations,  year  after  year,  and 
wonder  not  that  such  enthusiasm  should  be  manifested 
by  those  who  claim  lineal  descent  from  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers.  That  some  things  occur  in  connection  with 
these  occasions,  which  look  very  unlike  the  Puritans,  it 
is  mortifying  to  see.  There  have  recently  been  some  sad 
incongruities  enacted.  What,  for  instance,  has  fiddling 
and  dancing  and  carousal,  and  all  the  paraphernalia  of 
the  ball-room,  to  do  with  Puritanism?  If  one  of  the 
good  old  Puritans  should  rise  from  his  rest,  and  come  to 
the  door  of  a  Pilgrims'  ball — would  he  not  more  readily 
fancy  that  the  sons  of  the  Cavaliers  were  exulting  in  the 
riddance  of  them,  than  that  the  sons  of  the  Pilgrims  were 
celebrating  the  holy  triumphs  of  a  self-denying  piety  ? 
There  is,  to  our  mmds,  very  much  that  is  wrong  here. 
And  then,  how  comes  it  that  Unitarianism  is  so  ardent  in 
the  Pilgrim  Celebration  ?  What  fellowship  has  the 
Puritan  system  with  Unitarianism  1  We  were  inclined 
to  ask,  where,  on  the  last  Pilgrim  Anniversary,  were  the 
Orthodox  ministers — the  men  who  occupy  the  Puritan 
posts — of  Boston?  Have  they  given  all  into  other 
hands — or  do  they  seek  other  modes  of  showing  their 
regard  for  the  principles  of  their  fathers,  which  they 
deem  preferable  to  the  formality  of  uncovering  their 
heads  as  they  pass  the  spot  of  hallowed  memory  1  If 
there  is  any  anniversary  which  should  be  kept  with  truly 
religious  service,  it  is  this;  and  every  proper  means 


PURITANS  AND  THEIR  PRINCIPLES.  7 

should  be  employed,  that  the  descendants  of  the  Puritans 
should  know  in  detail  their  fathers'  history,  and  the  prin- 
ciples for  which  they  suffered. 

In  tV  is  view,  Mr.  Hall  of  Norwalk  has  done  good  ser- 
vice— but  his  work,  in  its  benefits,  goes  very  far  beyond 
this.  We  noticed  his  book  briefly,  a  few  weeks  ago,  and 
now,  after  a  careful  reading,  are  prepared  to  speak  more 
decidedly  concerning  it.  We  know  of  no  work,  which, 
in  the  same  compass,  gives  so  clear  and  satisfactory  a 
view  of  the  origin  and  progress  of  the  principles  of  Pu- 
ritanism. There  are  evidences  of  careful  and  patient  re- 
search, and  a  comparison  of  the  best  authorities,  in  every 
chapter.  The  picture  of  the  Laudcan  policy  is  one  that 
has  its  counterpart  only  under  the  bloody  Mary,  or  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  channel.  We  hope  to  be  able  to  give 
the  whole  of  this,  that  our  readers  may  know  more  of 
the  man,  whose  High  Church  views  Puseyism  sympa- 
thizes in,  and  whose  execution  it  celebrates  as  martyr- 
dom. The  history  of  the  successive  colonies  to  New 
England  is  given  with  peculiar  distinctness — and  from 
the  reading  of  it,  we  have  derived  a  clearer  knowledge  of 
the  several  localities  occupied.  The  style  of  Mr.  Hall  is 
vigorous,  and  his  whole  treatment  of  his  subject  manly. 
Our  country  congregations  cannot  fail  of  being  well  in- 
formed, with  such  courses  of  lectures  as  these. 

As  this  work  has  grown  out  of  the  late  outbreak  of 
Prelatic  exclusiveness — and  especially  in  Connecticut — 
the  author  goes  into  the  examination  of  the  peculiar  no- 
tions of  Episcopacy.  The  controversy  has  called  out 
several  able  works,  and  though  this  appears  last,  it  loses 
nothing  in  interest,  and  is  anticipated  by  nothing  which 
has  been  published.  In  the  chapters  embraced  in  this 
part  of  the  volume,  there  is  a  series  of  original  and  con- 
clusive reasoning.  A  certain  Mr.  Chapin,  as  well  as 
Bishop  Brownell,  comes  in  for  his  share  of  the  showing 
up.  In  the  concluding  chapter,  a  curtain  is  drawn,  and 
■we  are  furnished  with  a  view  of  some  things  worth  see- 
ing— note,  for  instance,  the  topics — "  Episcopacy  and  Re- 
publicanism"— "  Episcopacy  in  the  American  Revolu- 
tion"— "  Reproaches  against  the  Puritans" — "  The  Table 
Turned."  On  the  subject  presented  in  this  last  topic. 
Dr.  Phillips  was  led  to  say  something  in  his  late  dedica- 
tion sermon  ;  the  detail  here  given  is  amazing. 

Mr.  Hall  closes  his  volume  with  a  review  of  Dr.  Coit 
on  Puritanism,  and  exposes  him  fully.  Every  man  of 
New  England  origin,  who  ^jossesses  any  of  the  Puritan 


8  PURITANS  AND  THEIR  PRINCIPLES-. 

spirit,  we  should  think,  would  make  himself  acquainted 
"with  this  book.     We  commend  it  to  every  reader. 

After  these  remarks  concerning  the  book  in  general, 
there  is  one  circumstance  to  which  we  v/ould  call  special 
attention.  "Who  has  not  heard  of  "  the  Blue  Laws  of 
Connecticut" — who  has  not  felt  aggrieved  that  good  men 
should  be  concerned  in  their  enactment  ?  Behold,  they 
are  an  absolute  fiction — a  mere  Munchausen  affair — ac- 
cording to  Mr.  Hall,  the  work  of  a  Rev.  Mr.  Peters,  an 
Episcopal  clergyman,  a  Tory,  who  abandoned  our  coun- 
try at  the  o-pening  of  the  Revolution,  and  iied  to  Eng- 
land. Mr.  Hall  very  justly  expresses  his  amazement, 
that  this  man's  fabrications  should  be  brought  out  in  s 
recent  impression,  with  special  commendation. 


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